engaging with asean - icsw › images › docs › regions › seasia › pub › 2006... ·...

Compiled and published by theInternational Council on Social Welfare

An ICSW Briefing Paper

ASEAN

A guide for civil society organisations

Engaging with

ENGAGING WITH ASEAN: A Guide for Civil SocietyOrganisations

Compiled and Published by

International Council on Social Welfare

June 2006

ISBN 90-810903-1-3www.icsw.org

ICSW acknowledges that this publication has been made possible through grants from the Ministry for ForeignAffairs of Finland and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Compiled by MrGerry Fox for the South East Asia and Pacific Region of ICSW.

For information on ICSW activities, other publications, or becoming a member, please see www.icsw.org orcontact:

ICSW Global Office:


P.O. Box 19152

3501 DD Utrecht

The Netherlands

Phone 31 30 2306 336 Fax 31 30 2306 540

Email: [email protected]

ICSW Kampala

P.O. Box 28957,

Kampala, Uganda

Tel/Fax: 256 41 531036

[email protected]@infocom.co.ug

ENGAGING WITH ASEAN: A Guide for Civil Society Organisation

Compiled and Published by


June 2006

ISBN 90-810903-1-3

Contents

Glossary and Abbreviations _____________________________________________________________________4

OVERVIEW AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _______________________________________________________5

ESTABLISHMENT OF ASEAN __________________________________________________________________6

Establishment and Membership _____________________________________________________________6

ASEAN Objectives _______________________________________________________________________6

Fundamental Principles ____________________________________________________________________6

STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS _____________________________________________________________7

ASEAN Summit __________________________________________________________________________7

ASEAN Ministerial Meetings _______________________________________________________________8

ASEAN Standing Committee ________________________________________________________________8

Committees of Senior Officials and Technical Groups ____________________________________________8

Parallel or Advisory Structures & Groups _____________________________________________________8

ASEAN Secretariat _______________________________________________________________________9

ASEAN VISION AND POLICY FRAMEWORK ___________________________________________________ 10

ASEAN Security Community (ASC) _________________________________________________________ 10

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) ________________________________________________________ 11

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) ___________________________________________________ 11

External Relations _______________________________________________________________________ 12

ASEAN Charter _________________________________________________________________________ 12

SOCIAL WELFARE AND ASEAN ______________________________________________________________ 14

Frameworks and Workplans _______________________________________________________________ 15

Framework for ASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Family and Population (2003 –2006)_________ 15

Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication ____________________________ 15

Workplan on Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality ______________________________________ 15

CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT WITH ASEAN __________________________________________________ 18

Affiliation with ASEAN ___________________________________________________________________ 18

Engagement with ASEAN Secretariat ________________________________________________________ 19

Parallel Meetings, Regional Working Groups and Other Initiatives _________________________________ 20

ASEAN Foundation _____________________________________________________________________ 21

ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism _________________________________________________________ 21

Annexes

Annex 1:Vientiane Action Programme (excerpt) ___________________________________________________ 25

Annex 2: ASEAN Social-Cultural Community (ASCC) Plan of Action __________________________________ 33

Annex 3: Framework for ASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Family and Population (2003 –2006) ____ 43

Annex 4: Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (2004 – 2010) _____________ 51

Annex 5: Work Plan on Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality (2005 – 2010) ______________________ 59

Annex 6: Guidelines for ASEAN Relations with Civil Service Organisations _____________________________ 65

Annex 7: Civil Society Presentation to ASEAN Heads of State and Government, 2005 ____________________ 69

Vientiane Action Programme (excerpt)

4

Glossary and Abbreviations

ACW ASEAN Committee on Women

ADB Asian Development Bank

AIA ASEAN Investment Area

ACDM ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management

AF ASEAN Foundation

AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area

AMM ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

AMMRDPE ASEAN Ministerial Meeting for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication

AMMSWD ASEAN Ministerial Meeting for Social Welfare and Development

APA ASEAN Peoples Assembly

APAST ASEAN Plan of Action on Science and Technology

ARF ASEAN Regional Forum

ASCOE ASEAN Committee on Education

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AUN ASEAN University Network

AEC ASEAN Economic Community

ASC ASEAN Security Community

ASCC ASEAN Socio-cultural Community

CSO Civil Society Organisation

ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

IAMMST ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IT Information Technology

Link Body SOM linked to affiliated NGO

NGO Non-governmental Organisation

OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

RDPE Rural Development and Poverty Eradication

SAARC South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation

SEANWFZ Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone

SOM Senior Officials Meeting

SOMRDPE Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication

SOMSWD Senior Officials Meeting of Social Welfare and Development

SWD Social Welfare and Development

TAC Treaty of Amity and Cooperation

VAP Vientiane Action Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

5

Engaging with ASEAN- A Guide for Civil Society Organisations

This document updates the ICSW ASEAN briefingpaper originally published in 2001. It aims to describethe history and evolution of ASEAN, describe thestructures and mechanisms that guide the work ofASEAN, review some of the mechanisms for socialdevelopment organisations to be involved at the levelof ASEAN, and look at the opportunities forinteraction between civil society organisations andASEAN. It does not aim to be a critique of ASEANbut instead a ‘how to access ASEAN’ manual aimedat non-governmental and civil society organisations.

ASEAN was founded by five countries in 1967 andhas now grown to 10 member countries with a visionof actively cooperating towards peace, stability,progress and prosperity in the region. The earlydeclarations and statements from summits show thatthe group was founded primarily to provide aframework for regional political and economiccooperation.

In 1997, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Vision 2020which outlined the new aspirations of ASEAN leaders.The vision identified a Southeast Asia Community thatis:

• a concert of Southeast Asian nations that providesa zone of peace freedom and neutrality;

• a partnership in dynamic development to forgecloser economic integration within ASEAN;

• a community of caring societies, conscious of tieswith history, bound by cultural identity, wherepeople enjoy equitable access to opportunities forhuman development, where hunger malnutrition,deprivation and poverty are no longer basicproblems, civil society is empowered and socialjustice and the rule of law reign; and

• an outward looking ASEAN which played a pivotalrole in international fora.

In moving towards the implementation of this vision,ASEAN has grown into a large structure with manylevels of decision-making from Heads of State orGovernment to technical groupings. Discussions anddecision-making are in the form of formal andinformal meetings at each of these levels and Summitsat the level of Heads of State. ASEAN leaders have

also adopted a framework comprising threefundamental communities:

• ASEAN Security Community (ASC);

• ASEAN Economic Community (AEC); and

• ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

The ASEAN Secretariat, which is based in Jakarta,acts as the administrative and operational organ ofASEAN. Headed by the ASEAN Secretary-General, theSecretariat is divided into three areas: EconomicCooperation; Functional Cooperation; and the Office ofthe Secretary-General. Work in each of these areas iscoordinated by bodies of ASEAN officials in therespective fields, at Committee and Sub-Committeelevels. The mechanisms which relate particularly to thesocial welfare field are the Senior Officials Meeting onSocial Welfare and Development (SOMSWD), theASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on PovertyEradication and Rural Development (SOMRDPE) andthe ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW).

The work of these committees is guided by severalplans of action, in particular the Vientiane ActionProgramme (2004 – 2010) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Plan of Action (ASCC, adopted2004). In the social welfare field, the implementationof the ASCC is supported by the:

• Framework for the ASEAN Work Programme onSocial Welfare, Family and Population (2003 –2006);

• Framework Action Plan on Rural Development andPoverty Eradication (2004 – 2010); and

• Workplan on Women’s Advancement and GenderEquality (2005 – 2010).

ASEAN as an organisation has previously had littleengagement with civil society organisations, especiallyin the development of plans of action and decision-making at all levels. However, the Vientiane ActionProgramme provides much greater opportunity forNGOs to have meaningful participation with ASEAN inthe future. There are presently 54 NGOs accredited toASEAN. Many of the NGOs are technical-oriented orspecial-interest groups. Only a few are directly relatedto the work on social development.

Overview and Executive Summary

6

Engaging with ASEAN - A Guide for Civil Society Organisations

Establishment and Membership

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEANwas established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by fiveoriginal Member Countries, namely, Indonesia,Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. BruneiDarussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam joinedon 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) joinedon 23 July 1997 and after a brief delay due to internalconflicts, Cambodia joined on 30 April 1999.

The document that affirms the establishment ofASEAN is the ASEAN Declaration of 1967. TheASEAN Declaration made clear that the ‘Association isopen for participation to all States in the South EastAsian region subscribing to the aforementioned aims,principles and purposes’. It further stated that ‘theAssociation represents the collective will of the nationsof South East Asia to bind themselves together infriendship and cooperation and, through joint effortsand sacrifices, secure for their peoples and forposterity the blessings of peace, freedom andprosperity’.

The ASEAN region now has a population of over 500million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers anda total trade of over US$1 trillion.

ASEAN Objectives

The ASEAN declaration of 1967 states seven aims andpurposes of the Association. These are:

• ‘to accelerate the economic growth, social progressand cultural development in the region through jointendeavours in the spirit of equality and partnershipin order to strengthen the foundation for aprosperous and peaceful community of SoutheastAsian nations;

• to promote regional peace and stability throughabiding respect for the justice and the rule of law inthe relationship among countries in the region andthe adherence to the principles of the UnitedNations Charter;

• to promote active collaboration and mutualassistance on matters of common interest in theeconomic, social, cultural, technical, scientific andadministrative fields;

Establishment of ASEAN

• to provide assistance to each other in the form oftraining and research facilities in the educational,professional, technical and administrative spheres;

• to collaborate more effectively for the greaterutilization of their agriculture and industries, theexpansion of their trade, including the study of theproblems of international commodity trade, theimprovement of their transportation andcommunication facilities and the raising of theliving standards of their peoples;

• to promote South East Asian studies

• to maintain close and beneficial cooperation withexisting international and regional organizationswith similar aims and purposes, and explore allavenues for even closer cooperation amongthemselves.’

Fundamental Principles

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) inSoutheast Asia, signed at the First ASEAN Summit on24 February 1976, declared that in their relations withone another, the High Contracting Parties should beguided by the following fundamental principles:

• Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty,equality, territorial integrity, and national identity ofall nations;

• The right of every State to lead its nationalexistence free from external interference,subversion or coercion;

• Non-interference in the internal affairs of oneanother;

• Settlement of differences or disputes by peacefulmanner;

• Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and

• Effective cooperation among themselves.

This treaty has been accepted by a growing numberof countries outside Southeast Asia. To date, thefollowing countries have acceded to the treaty: PapuaNew Guinea (1989), China (2003), India (2003),Japan (2004), Pakistan (2004), Republic of Korea2004), Russia (2004) and Australia (2005). [For keydocuments including the Treaty of Amity see:www.aseansec.org/145.htm].

�


ASEAN Summit

The highest decision making organ of ASEAN is the Meeting of the ASEAN Heads of State and Government. This meeting is convened every year. Hosting of the summits follows alphabetical rotation.

The Summit is informed by ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, ASEAN Economic Ministers meetings and ASEAN Finance Ministers Meetings. There are also other meetings for special activities. For the Social Welfare Sector, the key decision making body are the ASEAN Ministerial Meetings, and the corresponding Committees of Senior Officials and Technical Groups which support it.

Structures and Mechanisms

SOM: Senior Officials MeetingASC: ASEAN Standing Committee

7

ASEAN Summit

The highest decision making organ of ASEAN is theMeeting of the ASEAN Heads of State andGovernment. This meeting is convened every year.Hosting of the summits follows alphabetical rotation.

The Summit is informed by ASEAN MinisterialMeetings, ASEAN Economic Ministers meetings andASEAN Finance Ministers Meetings. There are alsoother meetings for special activities. For the SocialWelfare Sector, the key decision making body are theASEAN Ministerial Meetings, and the correspondingCommittees of Senior Officials and Technical Groupswhich support it.

SOM: Senior Officials Meeting

ASC: ASEAN Standing Committee

8


the year or on an ad hoc basis preparing for events orother higher-level meetings.

The committees which relate particularly to the socialwelfare field are the Senior Officials Meeting onSocial Welfare and Development (SOMSWD), theASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on RuralDevelopment and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE)and the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW).

ASEAN has several specialised bodies andarrangements promoting inter-governmentalcooperation in various fields. These are the ASEANUniversity Network, ASEAN-EC Management Centre,ASEAN Centre for Energy, ASEAN AgriculturalDevelopment Planning Centre, ASEAN EarthquakeInformation Centre, ASEAN Poultry ResearchTraining Centre, ASEAN Regional Centre forBiodiversity Conservation, ASEAN SpecialisedMeteorological Centre, ASEAN Tourism InformationCentre and ASEAN Timber Technology Centre.

In addition, ASEAN promotes cooperative activitieswith organisations with related aims and purposessuch as ASEAN-Chambers of Commerce andIndustry, ASEAN Business Forum, ASEAN TourismAssociation, ASEAN Council on Petroleum, ASEANPorts Association, ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club andthe ASEAN-Institute for Strategic and InternationalStudies.

Parallel or Advisory Structures &Groups

Track II

A second level of work and discussions has been ineffect within ASEAN in the form of Track IIorganisations composed of mostly of academics,think tanks and scholars, media, business people andgovernment officials in their private capacity. Most ofthe work of Track II officials are on foreign affairspolicies, regional peace and security issues and thepromotion of confidence building measures.

One of the initiatives of Track II related to civilsociety is ASEAN People’s Assembly [see page 20].

ASEAN Ministerial Meetings

The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) is an annualmeeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers which is next tothe ASEAN Summit in the level of decision-making.There is much publicity around the meeting of theASEAN Foreign Ministers and usually a declaration orJoint Communique is produced at the end of themeeting.

Ministerial meetings on several other sectors are alsoheld, although the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting stillseems to be the meeting given the most attention. Theother ministerial meetings include: agriculture andforestry, economics, energy, environment, finance,higher education, information, investment, labour, law,regional haze, rural development and povertyalleviation, science and technology, social welfare,transnational crime, transportation, tourism, youth, aswell as meetings of the ASEAN Investment Area(AIA) Council, and the ASEAN Free Trade Area(AFTA) Council.

ASEAN Standing Committee

The ASEAN Standing Committee is composed of theDirectors-General of the ASEAN Departments of therespective Ministries of Foreign Affairs. TheDirectors-General meet as a body ‘standing in’ for theASEAN Foreign Ministers who meet annually in theAMM. Chairmanship of the ASEAN StandingCommittee rotates annually in concomitance with thehosting of the AMM.

The ASEAN Standing Committee reports directly tothe ASEAN Foreign Ministers who in turn report tothe Heads of State/Government.

Committees of Senior Officialsand Technical Groups

Supporting these ministerial bodies are 29 committeesof senior officials and 122 technical working groups.The committees of senior officials are called SeniorOfficials Meetings (SOM), meeting regularly during

9


Dialogue Partners andInternational Organisations

In the past ASEAN has encouraged and initiatedcooperation with dialogue partners (governmentsfrom outside the region) and internationalorganisations such as donors, trade groups andfinancial institutions. Bilateral and multilateral relationswith various governments and internationalorganisations have been developed and strengthenedthrough the years and through several agreementsand plans of action. Universities and researchorganisations become partners for specific projectswhen the concerned committee or sub-committeeimplements plans of action. Civil societyorganisations can become involved with the ASEANin particular aspects of plans of action [see pages 15-17 & 19-20].

ASEAN Secretariat

In support of the work of ASEAN, the PermanentSecretariat was established in February 1976. Thiswas later referred to as the ASEAN Secretariat. TheSecretariat has its seat in Jakarta, Indonesia and isheaded by the Secretary-General. The Host Country(Indonesia) grants to the Secretariat, the Secretary-General and the staff, privileges and immunities forthe performance of their duties and functions.

The Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is appointed by ASEANForeign Ministers upon nomination by a membercountry on a rotational basis in alphabetical order.The tenure for the Secretary-General is five years,which may be extended. The Secretary-General ofASEAN is appointed on merit and accordedministerial status. The Secretary-General is mandatedto initiate, advise, coordinate and implement ASEANactivities. The members of the professional staff ofthe ASEAN Secretariat are appointed on the principleof open recruitment and region-wide competition.

Other Staff

Other staff of the ASEAN secretariat include: 2

Deputy Secretaries-General, 4 Bureau Directors, 14Assistant Directors and Coordinators, 23 SeniorOfficers, 27 Technical Officers, 28 TechnicalAssistants that may be deemed necessary. There is atotal of 99 mandated staff in the organisation.

Website

The Secretariat has developed a webpage providing allkey ASEAN documents and detailed information onASEAN functions [http://www.aseansec.org].

10


In 1997, ASEAN adopted ASEAN Vision 2020 whichoutlined the aspirations of ASEAN leaders to beachieved by 2020. The vision identified a SoutheastAsia community that is:

1. A Concert of Southeast Asian Nations providing aZone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality. This includesa free and stable ASEAN where causes of conflicthad been eliminated and disputes resolved throughpeaceful means; a region free of nuclear and otherweapons of mass destruction; and an effective use ofhuman and natural resources for development andprosperity.

2. A partnership in dynamic development to forgecloser economic integration within ASEAN. Thisincludes creating a region with a free flow of goods,service and investments, a freer flow of capital,equitable economic development and reduced povertyand socio-economic disparities.

3. A community of caring societies which isconscious of its ties of history, aware of its culturalheritage and bound by a regional identity. Thisincludes an ASEAN where all people enjoy equitableaccess to opportunities for human developmentregardless of gender, race, religion, language, orsocial and cultural background; where hunger,malnutrition, deprivation and poverty are no longerbasic problems; and where civil society isempowered and social justice and the rule of lawreign.

4. An outward-looking ASEAN playing a pivotal rolein international fora, and advancing ASEAN’scommon interests. An ASEAN having intensifiedrelationships with Dialogue Partners [see page 17]and other regional bodies based on equal partnershipand mutual respect.

To meet this vision, ASEAN leaders adopted aframework comprising the following threefundamental communities plus an external relationsfunction to strengthen relationships outside ASEAN:

• ASEAN Security Community (ASC)

• ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)

• ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)

• External relations.

ASEAN Vision & Policy Framework

Programmes under each of these areas are governedand guided by several operating treaties, declarations,accords, statements and plans of action. The currentplan of action is the Vientiane Action Programme(VAP) [Annex 1]. This builds on and succeeds theHanoi Action Plan and defines the ASEAN workplanfrom 2004 – 2010. The VAP provides considerablymore opportunities for engagement by NGOs, notablywithin the framework of the ASEAN Socio-CulturalCommunity (ASCC).

ASEAN Security Community

Political and Security Cooperation

Two of the main treaties guiding the work on politicalcooperation are the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation(TAC) in Southeast Asia which is a legally bindinginstrument aimed at promoting perpetual peace,everlasting amity and cooperation in the region; andthe Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear WeaponFree Zone (SEANWFZ) which aims to strengthenconfidence building measures in Southeast Asia and tofoster worldwide disarmament. There are also parallelASEAN structures that address political and securityissues in the region.

ASEAN Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was formed inaccordance with the 1992 Singapore Declaration ofthe ASEAN Summit where the ASEAN Heads of Stateand Government declared their intention to intensifydialogues with external partners on political andsecurity matters.

ARF has then continued to develop as a multi-lateralforum for political and security consultations andcooperation. The ARF consists of the 10 ASEANmember states, the 12 ASEAN Dialogue Partners and1 ASEAN Observer. It is a forum to discuss issues ofsecurity and foreign policy in the region. There aretwo ‘tracks’ for the discussion on these issues: thefirst track which covers the formal meetings such asthe annual ARF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and SOM,and the second track that covers non-official, non-formal seminars and workshops. Issues under thepurview of ARF have included denuclearization of the

12

11


Koran Peninsula, counter-terrorism measures, illicitdrugs, piracy, people smuggling and humantrafficking, transnational crime and HIV/AIDS.

Other work under Political Cooperation includes theorganisation of the ASEAN Summit, politicalconsultations and cooperation with the United Nationsagencies such as UNESCO, UNDP and UNICEF.However, ASEAN as a body, does not as yet have aseat in the United Nations assembly.

Policy of Non-Interference

The most controversial and yet most defended policyof ASEAN is the policy of non-interference that hasbeen in effect ever since the founding of the regionalorganisation. Civil society organisations (CSOs) havestrongly criticised it, ASEAN governments havestrongly defended it. The policy maintains that acountry’s internal affairs are its own affair and willnot allow any other country to meddle unless thatcountry specifically requests it. Although CSOs havecalled for a review of this policy because it impedesdecision making and action on critical issues, ASEANmember governments maintain that it is important tokeep the policy of non-interference to promoteconfidence-building and preserve state sovereignty.There has, however, been a small shift in theimplementation of this policy. Most notably, foreignministers have raised concerns about the situation inMyanmar and an ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Caucushas also been established to monitor these issues [see:www.aseanmp.org].

ASEAN Economic Community

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims tocreate a stable, prosperous and highly competitiveregion, functioning as a single market and productionbase by 2020. The aim is to have a free flow ofgoods, service and skilled labour, and a freer flow ofcapital, along with equitable economic development,and reduced poverty and socio-economic disparitieswithin and across its Member Countries.

Areas under the AEC include:

• Finance

• Trade

• Investment

• Industry

• Services

• Electronic Commerce

• Transport and Communications

• Energy

• Development of Growth Areas

• Tourism

• Intellectual Property

• Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

• Food, Agriculture and Forestry

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

ASEAN has the following vision for the ASEANSocio-Cultural Community ASCC:

• ‘Equitable access to opportunities will be universal— rising above the barriers of religion, race,language, gender and social and culturalbackground’

• ‘Human potentials are nurtured to the fullest’

• ‘Norms of social and distributive justice are upheldby addressing issues of poverty and equity, andspecial care is given to vulnerable groups —children, youth, women, the elderly, and personswith disabilities’

• ‘The environment and natural resources areprotected and managed to sustain development andas a legacy for future generations’

• ‘Civil society is engaged in providing inputs forpolicy choices’

• ‘People are healthy in mind and body and living inharmony in safe environments’

• ‘ASEAN citizens interact in a communityconscious of its ties of history, aware of itscultural heritage and bound by a common regionalidentity’

12


The ASCC is supported by implementing frameworksand workplans. For the social welfare, keyframeworks and workplans are the Framework for theASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Familyand Population (2003 – 2006), the Framework ActionPlan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication(2004 – 2010) and the Workplan on Woman’sAdvancement and Gender Equality (2005 – 2010). [seepages 15-17].

External Relations

In the past ASEAN has encouraged and initiatedcooperation with dialogue partners (governments fromoutside the region) and international organisations suchas donors, trade groups and financial institutions.Bilateral and multilateral relations with variousgovernments and international organisations have beendeveloped and strengthened through the years andthrough several agreements and plans of action.Universities and research organisations becomepartners for specific projects when the concernedcommittee or sub-committee implements plans ofaction. Civil society organisations have also becomeinvolved with ASEAN in particular aspects of plans ofaction.

In particular, ASEAN has active relations with thefollowing Dialogue Partners:

• ASEAN Plus 3

• ASEAN-Australia

• ASEAN-Canada

• ASEAN-China

• ASEAN-EU

• ASEAN-India

• ASEAN-Japan

• ASEAN-Republic of Korea

• ASEAN-New Zealand

• ASEAN-Russia

• ASEAN-United States

• ASEAN-UNDP

• ASEAN-Pakistan (sectoral dialogue)

The ASEAN Plus Three process is where the ASEANHeads of State and Government meet with theircounterparts from China, Japan and the Republic ofKorea. The agenda of the meetings in the ASEAN PlusThree revolve around economic and trade issues. TheASEAN Plus Three meetings usually fall parallel to theASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting every year.

In the recent years, there have also beencommunications with the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD), South AsiaAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), GulfCooperation Council, the Rio Group, South PacificForum, Asian Development Bank (ADB), the AndeanCommunity and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. ASEANalso maintains close collaboration with the UNspecialized agencies in their respective fields, such asWHO (health matters), UNAIDS (HIV/AIDS),UNDCP (drug control), UNICEF (children’s matters),UNIFEM (women’s matters). Recently, the FifthConsultative Meeting Among Executive Heads of Sub-regional Organisations and ESCAP identified nodalofficers at the ESCAP, ASEAN and SAARCSecretariats to coordinate initiatives in the areas ofinternational and regional trade policy, e-commerce;social development, the environment, and statistics,among others.

These multilateral and bilateral relations arestrengthened by meetings when and where possible,where various regional and international issues arediscussed and plans of collaboration clarified ordeveloped.

ASEAN Charter

In 2005, the ASEAN Heads of State also committed toestablishing an ASEAN Charter. This will serve as alegal and institutional framework and codify ASEANnorms, rules and values of ASEAN and will reaffirmprinciples, goals and ideals contained in ASEAN’smilestone agreements.

These include among others:

• ‘Promotion of community interest for the benefitof all ASEAN Member Countries;

The ASCC is supported by implementing frameworks and worplans. For social welfare, key frameworks and workplans are the Framework for the ASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Family and Population (2003 – 2006), the Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (2004 – 2010) and the Workplan on Woman’s Advancement and Gender Equality (2005 – 2010). [see pages 15-17].

13


• Maintaining primary driving force of ASEAN;

• Narrowing the development gaps among MemberCountries;

• Adherence to a set of common socio-cultural andpolitical community values and shared norms ascontained in the various ASEAN documents;

• Continuing to foster a community of caringsocieties and promote a common regional identity;

• Effective implementation as well as compliancewith ASEAN’s agreements;

• Promotion of democracy, human rights andobligations, transparency and good governanceand strengthening democratic institutions;

• Ensuring that countries in the region live at peacewith one another and with the world at large in ajust, democratic and harmonious environment;

• Decision making on the basis of equality, mutualrespect and consensus;

• Commitment to strengthen ASEAN’scompetitiveness, to deepen and broaden ASEAN’sinternal economic integration and linkages with theworld economy;

• Promotion of regional solidarity and cooperation;

• Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty,equality, territorial integrity and national identity ofall nations;

• Renunciation of nuclear weapons and otherweapons of mass destruction and avoidance ofarms race;

• Renunciation of the use of force and threat to useof force; non-aggression and exclusive reliance onpeaceful means for the settlement of differencesor disputes;

• Enhancing beneficial relations between ASEANand its friends and partners;

• Upholding non-discrimination of any ASEANMember Countries in ASEAN’s external relationsand cooperative activities;

• Observance of principles of international lawconcerning friendly relations and cooperationamong States; and

• The right of every state to lead its nationalexistence free from external interference,subversion or coercion and non-interference in theinternal affairs of one another’.

14


The Vientiane Action Programme 2004 – 2010 (VAP),agreed at the 2004 ASEAN Summit in Vientiane,provides new opportunities for participation by NGOs[Annex 1]. It succeeds and builds on the Hanoi ActionPlan and provides significantly greater potential forcivil society engagement. In the social welfare field,implementation of the VAP is guided by the ASEANSocial-Cultural Community (ASCC) Plan ofAction [Annex 2].

The ASCC Plan of Action has four core elements:

• Building a community of caring societies toaddress issues of poverty, equity and humandevelopment;

• Managing the social impact of economicintegration by building a competitive humanresource base and adequate systems of socialprotection;

• Enhancing environmental sustainability andsound environmental governance; and

• Strengthening the foundations of regional socialcohesion towards an ASEAN Community in 2020.

ASEAN has identified key entry points to achieve thesegoals:

• Health. Priorities include management ofinfectious diseases such as dengue, cholera,tuberculosis, typhoid fever and HIV/AIDS.

• Labour and employment. Directed by ASEANSenior Labour Officials, priorities include mutualskills recognition, an industrial relationsframework and an Occupational Safety and HealthNetwork.

• Social welfare and development. Directed byASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare andDevelopment (AMMSWD), supported by theSenior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare andDevelopment (SOMSWD) and guided byFramework for the ASEAN Work Program onSocial Welfare, Family and Population. Prioritiesinclude capacity building in the social sector andstrengthening regional cooperation and the role ofthe family, community and civil society [see pages15-16].

• Youth. Priorities include strengthening youthemployment.

• Women. Directed by ASEAN Committee onWomen (ACW) and guided by the Declaration on

the Elimination of Violence against Women in theASEAN Region. Priorities include integration,participation, protection and promotion of women[See pages 16-17].

• Rural Development and Poverty Eradication.Directed by ASEAN Ministers on RuralDevelopment and Poverty Eradication (AMRDPE)and supported by the Senior Officials Meeting onRural Development and Poverty Eradication(SOMRDPE) and guided by the RDPE Action Plan.Priorities include globalization, narrowing the digitaldivide and development gap, social protection,employment and income generation, partnershipsand decentralisation [See pages 15-16].

• Education. Directed by the Senior Officials onEducation (SOM-ED) and the ASEAN UniversityNetwork (AUN), priorities include complementingongoing regional initiatives to promote ASEANawareness, solidarity and identity in educationinstitutions.

• Environment. Directed by ASEAN EnvironmentMinisters and guided by the ten priority areas forregional cooperation, namely: priorities are globalenvironment issues, land and forest fires andtransboundary haze pollution; coastal and marineenvironment; nature conservation and biodiversity;integrated water resources management; publicawareness and environmental education; promotionof environmentally sound technologies; urbanenvironmental management and governance; andsustainable development, monitoring, reporting/database harmonization.

• Disaster Management. Directed by the SpecialASEAN leaders meetings and the ASEANCommittee on Disaster Management (ACDM) itaims to establish regional mechanisms on disasterprevention, preparedness and mitigation.

• Science and Technology. Directed by ASEANMinisterial Meeting on Science and Technology(IAMMST) and guided by the ASEAN Plan ofAction on Science and Technology (APAST), itaims to strengthen science and technologycooperation within ASEAN.

• Culture and Information. Aims to enhancemutual understanding and solidarity among theASEAN community, further regional development,and effectively project ASEAN within and outsidethe region.

Social Welfare and ASEAN

15


Frameworks and Workplans

The ASCC is underpinned by frameworks andworkplans which provide the implementation strategyfor the ASCC Plan of Action. For social welfareorganisations, the key frameworks and workplanswhere NGOs can participate are the following:

1. Framework for the ASEAN Work Programme onSocial Welfare, Family and Population (2003 –2006) [Annex 3]

2. Framework Action Plan on Rural Developmentand Poverty Eradication (2004 – 2010) [Annex 4]

3. Work Plan on Women’s Advancement and GenderEquality (2005 – 2010) [Annex 5]

Reports on implementation of each of the frameworksoccur yearly to the respective committees responsiblefor management of the programs.

1. Framework for the ASEAN WorkProgramme on Social Welfare, Familyand Population (2003 – 2006)The framework is developed by the ASEANSecretariat in coordination with the Senior OfficialsMeeting of Social Welfare and Development(SOMSWD). The SOMSWD meets yearly (normallyaround November). The final framework isdiscussed, amended and ratified by the ASEANMinisterial Meeting for Social Welfare anddevelopment (AMMSWD) which meets every twoyears (directly after the SOMSWD meeting).

The 2003-2006 framework identifies the followingspecific objectives:

• To strengthen and intensify regional cooperation inenhancing the role of families, communities, civilsociety (including non-governmentalorganizations), the private sector and thegovernment in managing social problems, meethuman needs and maximise opportunities fordevelopment;

• To enhance capacity for anticipating and managingthe social consequences of rapid demographic,political, social and economic changes, especiallyin the context of trade liberalization andglobalisation;

• To promote the use of developmental as well asparticipatory approaches in helping the maginalisedand disadvantaged to become independent and tofacilitate their integration into society; and

• To enhance the capacity of social welfare/socialdevelopment ministries to mainstream socialconcerns into the national development agenda

To meet these objectives, the framework alsoidentifies strategies and priority program areasincluding recommendations for specific projectimplementation. Programs cover policy research,regional networking, training (including exchange oftrainees and experts), and advocacy/publicinformation.

2. Framework Action Plan on RuralDevelopment and Poverty Eradication

The priority areas for Rural Development and PovertyEradication (RDPE) are:

• Globalisation

• Narrowing the Digital Divide, promoting the use ofICT as a tool

• Social Protection

• Employment and Income-generation

• Partnerships, Decentralisation, Local Participation

• Narrowing the Development Gap

Globalisation

These include a study on the social cost of realising anASEAN economic community; policy reviews todevelop fast-track approach to fight poverty (includingsocial protection policies and social investments);preparation of a Southeast Asia Human DevelopmentReport; enhancing poverty monitoring systems; andcapacity development on risk and vulnerabilityindicators.

Narrowing the Digital Divide, promoting theuse of ICT as a tool

Regional activities would focus on enhancing ITawareness and utilisation among the rural populace inASEAN countries, to facilitate the transition from

16


traditional agro-based communities into thoseadequately prepared for regional economic integration.

Social Protection

Priorities include:

• capacity-building of civil society organisations insocial services delivery;

• increasing the involvement of non-governmentaland civil society organisations;

• facilitating adjustment to economic restructuring(pro-active social protection).

Other recommended activities are:

• Assessing the social protection needs of individualmember countries based on vulnerabilities beyondthose linked to industrial restructuring:

• Strengthening and establishing effective capacity ofcivil society organisations and private sectorsgroups not only for social services delivery, butmore prominently for facilitating and intensifyinglocal community and/or local government roles insocial safety and protection:

• Enhancing analysis and interpretation of data andstatistics on poverty:

Employment and Income-generationPriorities include:

• Microfinance

• Economic entrepreneurship

• Development of rural enterprises

• Productive economic activities

• Market networking

• Job training

Partnerships, Decentralisation, LocalParticipationPriorities include:

• Strengthen in-country capacity across sectorsinvolved in rural development and povertyeradication to promote local participation;

• Develop activities that facilitate active involvementof all rural development stakeholders in policy

formulation, planning, implementation, monitoringand evaluation.

Narrowing the Development Gap

The priority is to increase closer regional integration ofASEAN countries through:

• Facilitating regional networking amonggovernments, non-governmental organisations(NGOs), private sector, business sector andresearch institutes;

• Sharing of information, best practices, lessonslearnt, research capacity and technical expertise;

• Developing a regional rural volunteer programme;

• Promoting greater public awareness on the need toaccelerate rural development and povertyeradication.

3. Workplan on Women’s Advancementand Gender Equality

The first meeting of the ASEAN Committee onWomen (ACW) was held in October 2002. The ACWworkplan gives affect to the Vientiane ActionProgramme which recommends the following regionalmeasures that will:

• Promote equitable participation of women in thedevelopment process by eliminating all forms ofdiscrimination against them;

• Implement the eight goals of the Declaration on theElimination of Violence Against Women in theASEAN Region;

• Strengthen regional collaboration in programmes tocombat trafficking in women and children;

• Develop and implement an ASEAN Work Plan onWomen’s Advancement Agenda in politics;

• Conduct skills training for out-of-school youth anddisadvantaged women;

• Increase women’s access to micro-credit,information systems and basic social services.

Priority Areas identified by ACW are:

1. Integration and Participation of Women

2. Protection of Women

3. Addressing Challenges of Globalisation

17


4. Promoting Employability of Women

Integration and Participation of Women

Activities:

• Promote regional awareness and strengthencapacity on gender mainstreaming, includingwithin the relevant ASEAN committees andASEAN Secretariat;

• Intensify collaboration with the ASEANConfederation of Women’s Organisations(ACWO) to address important women’s concernsin ASEAN, including the feminisation of poverty;

• Strengthen capacity for research and information-gathering, particularly quantitative information thatis disaggregated by sex and age, and includingindicators used to monitor activities for genderequality and advancement;

• Document best practices/ innovative strategiesundertaken by ASEAN countries to mainstreamgender in the planning, implementing, monitoringand evaluation of policies and legislation; and

• Increase the participation of women in all aspectsof ASEAN activities.

Protection of Women

Activities:

• Strengthen regional capacity to follow-up therecommendations of the 2002 Workshop onGender-Based Violence;

• Work with UN organisations, in particularUNIFEM, to promote the Declaration on theElimination of Violence against Women in theASEAN Region, and the Convention on theElimination of all forms of Discrimination AgainstWomen;

• Document ASEAN experiences/lessons/ bestpractices in addressing gender-based violence;

• Strengthen management information system onincidence of gender-based violence in all ASEANcountries.

• Implement the eight priorities of the Declarationon Violence Against Women in the ASEANRegion.

Addressing Challenges of GlobalisationActivities:

Develop and intensify research capacity on the negativeimpact of globalisation on women’s lives in order tohave an effective understanding and identifysubsequent measures of change.

Support the strengthening of capacities to:

• Implement strategies to improve women’s access,participation, control and benefit to micro-credit,information systems, basic social services such aseducation and health care, to bridge the gender gap;

• Implement advocacy and training programmes aswell as transparent and well-defined processes toenable women migrant workers to be well-informedand prepared for work overseas so as to avoid thepotential danger of becoming victims of violence,abuse, or trafficking;

• Implement strategies – in consultation with theASEAN Senior Labour Officials – to address theimpact of trade liberalisation on women, includingissues on working conditions, vulnerabilities anddifferences that women have in the formal labourmarket;

• Put in place multi-sectoral programmes addressingthe need for boosting employability and livelihoodmanagement skills of women as a means ofassisting women’s access, participation, controland benefit of economic opportunities and long-term economic wellbeing of women.

Promoting Employability of WomenActivities:

• Support formulation of policies and action plans ineach ASEAN Member Country to promote skillstraining and provide opportunities for self-employment and micro-enterprise for women.

There are several entry points where NGOs can engagewith ASEAN. These include:

1. Affiliation with ASEAN

2. Engagement with ASEAN Secretariat

3. Parallel Meetings, Regional Working Groups andother Initiatives

4. ASEAN Foundation

5. ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism

18


There are several entry points where NGOs canengage with ASEAN. These include:


2. Engagement with ASEAN Secretariat

3. Parallel Meetings, Regional Working Groups andother Initiatives

4. ASEAN Foundation

5. ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism


ASEAN has developed ‘Guidelines for ASEANRelations with Civil Society Organisations’ whichincludes criteria for consideration for applications[Annex 6]. Some of the criteria are:

• As a general rule, only a CSO whose membershipis confined to the ASEAN nationals may beconsidered for affiliation with ASEAN;

• Approval of application for affiliation of a CSOwith ASEAN shall be based primarily upon theassessment of the positive contribution which sucha CSO could make to the enhancement,strengthening and realisation of the aims andobjectives of ASEAN;

• Affiliation status with ASEAN may not be grantedto a CSO if it has objectives, activities or projectswhich are contrary to or inconsistent with the aimsand objectives of ASEAN embodied in the BangkokDeclaration and the Declaration of ASEANConcord;

• The objectives of the CSO’s activities shouldcontribute towards achieving community buildingthat is in line with one or more of the three pillarsof the ASEAN Community – the ASEAN SecurityCommunity, the ASEAN Economic Communityand the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community; and

• A CSO whose membership comes from a relativelyeven spread of the ASEAN Member Countries maybe allowed affiliation, provided that ASEAN issatisfied that the CSO merits affiliation and thenon-participating Member Countries have giventheir consent to the CSO and provided further thatmembership shall remain open for other Member

Countries.

The guidelines define the main objectives of affiliationas being:

• To draw the CSOs into the mainstream of ASEANactivities so that they are kept informed of majorpolicies, directives and decisions of ASEAN andare given the opportunity and the privilege ofparticipating in ASEAN activities;

• To ensure interaction and fruitful relationshipsbetween the existing ASEAN bodies and the CSOs;and

• To help promote the development of a people-centred ASEAN Community.

Of the 54 CSOs only a few can be identified as relatedto work on social development. These are:

• Committee for ASEAN Youth Cooperation(CAYC), Malaysia

• ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations(ACWO), Singapore

• ASEAN NGOs for the Prevention of Drugs andSubstance Abuse, Malaysia

• ASEAN NGO Coalition on Aging in Chiang Mai,Thailand

• Southeast Asia Regional Institute for Communityand Education (SEARICE), Philippines

• Asian Partnership for the Development of HumanResources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA)

Affiliate privileges

The guidelines also outline the following privileges ofan affiliated CSO:

Use of ASEAN name

• It may use the name ‘ASEAN’ and display theofficial ASEAN emblem in correspondence andcommunications and its official meetings so long asthe displaying of such emblem is non-commercialin nature.

Civil Society Engagement with ASEAN

19


Presentation on policy issues

• It may submit written statements orrecommendations and views on policy matters oron significant events or regional or internationalconcerns, to the ASEAN Standing Committeethrough the ASEAN Secretariat.

• It may initiate programmes of activities forpresentation to its link body for appropriate action(for social welfare organisations these are likely tobe SOMSWD or SOMRDPE).

• At the discretion of the Chairman of the link body,it may attend meetings of the link body forconsultation on matters and issues of directconcern to the CSO.

Access to project funding

• It may submit its own project proposals for ThirdParty funding to be channelled through the ASEANSecretariat to the Standing Committee forapproval.

Access for research

• For purposes of doing research for its projects, itmay be allowed access to ASEAN documents on aselective basis in consultation with the ASEANSecretariat of its link body.

• Subject to rules and regulations, it may be alloweduse of the facilities of the ASEAN Secretariat forits official meetings and other official activities inJakarta.

• The ASEAN Secretariat shall provide CSOs withkey ASEAN publications every year.

2. Engagement with ASEANSecretariat

Key to working with ASEAN is engagement with theASEAN Secretariat. The Secretariat is the initial authorof the action plans and framework documents incoordination with the Senior Officials Meetings(SOMs). These plans are amended and ratified at therelevant ministerial meetings for final approval at theASEAN Summit.

The Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare andDevelopment (SOMSWD) and the Senior OfficialsMeeting of Rural Development and PovertyEradication (SOMRDPE) meet around Novemberevery year to discuss and develop the plans presentedby the Secretariat. The respective ministerial meetings:the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting for Social Welfare andDevelopment (AMMSWD) and the ASEAN MinisterialMeeting for Rural Development and PovertyEradication (AMRDPE) meet every two years directlyafter the SOM meetings.

Opportunities exist for engagement with theSecretariat on several levels.

Participation in existing plans andprojects.

The Social Welfare and Development (SWD), RuralDevelopment and Poverty Eradication (RDPE)frameworks and Women’s Advancement and GenderEquality Workplan [pages 15-17] include a projectimplementation strategy in which NGOs canparticipate. The frameworks and plans include bothplanned and proposed projects that the Secretariatmonitors, facilitates and sometimes manages. TheSecretariat also provides a yearly update (forpresentation to the SOMSWD and SOMRDPE) on thestatus of the projects which can assist NGOs inidentifying potential opportunities to engage includingbecoming a project implementing partner. Funding forASEAN projects may be available from the ASEANFoundation [see below].

Participation in GO – NGO forum

As part of the VAP plans to increase participation ofNGOs, the SOMSWD is establishing a GO – NGOForum (Governmental / Non-governmental Forum).The first of these forums is timetabled for 2006 andprovides a good opportunity for social welfareorganisations to both identify opportunities in existingprograms and also to influence the development offuture plans.

Input into new action plans, frameworksand projects

The present Framework for Social Welfare and

20


Development (SWD) is valid from 2003 – 2006. InNovember 2006 the SOMSWD will be discussing andrecommending a new Framework for Social Welfareand Development for ratification in the 2007 meetingof the AMMSWD. NGOs have an opportunity toinfluence the content of this framework. AffiliatedNGOs can provide written submissions to theSecretariat, arrange to make a presentation to theSOMSWD, and participate in the GO – NGO Forum.

Input will also be possible into future Frameworks forRDPE (2004 – 2010) and the Workplan on Women’sAdvancement and Gender Equality (2004 – 2010).

Country Action Plans

To realize the regionally identified goals under theASEAN action plans, each ASEAN Member Countrymay develop project or activity proposals to beimplemented as a regional action. To ensureinclusiveness, NGOs should be able to assist thecountry focal points to develop these proposals. Thiscan be done through interaction and participation withthe appropriate country ministry. Through such liaisonand links, NGOs may also have the opportunity toparticipate in events and meetings planned by anASEAN Member Country as part of theimplementation of the project.

3. Parallel Meetings, RegionalWorking Groups and OtherInitiatives

Aside from accreditation as a CSO to ASEAN, manycivil society organisations have opted to plan parallelmeetings to the high-level ASEAN meetings or formworking groups on broad or specific issues related toASEAN. Following are some examples.

ASEAN Civil Society Conference

The most recent initiative is the Civil SocietyConference which was a parallel meeting of NGOsduring the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiain December 2005. The conference attracted broadrepresentation and was the first time that civil society

was given the opportunity to address the Summitleaders with their concerns. It is anticipated that thisCivil Society Conference will become an annual eventtimetabled to take place alongside the ASEANSummit. The civil society statement from thisconference is attached. [Annex 7].

The Southeast Asia Committee forAdvocacy (SEACA)

This Committee was convened for the first time inOctober 2005 with the support of the ASEANSecretariat. It organized a regional conference on CivilSociety Engagement in ASEAN, in Bangkok.

The ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA)

The APA meets yearly and is organised by the Centrefor Strategic and International Studies in cooperationwith the Singapore Institute of International Affairsand the various ASEAN Institutes of Strategic andInternational Studies (ASEAN-ISIS). The organisersof the APA are from Track II organisations,consisting of government, mainstream academe,business and media. There are no civil societyrepresentatives or NGO representatives in Track II.

The goals of the APA are, among others, to promotemutual understanding and tolerance for the diversityof culture, religion, ethnicity, social values, politicalstructures and processes, and other elements ofASEAN’s diversity among broader sectors of theASEAN population; and to obtain insights or inputs onhow to deal with socioeconomic problems affectingASEAN societies from as many relevant sectors ofASEAN societies as possible.

The ASEAN People’s Forum (APF)

The APF was an initiative which was spearheaded bythe Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development(Forum-Asia). It had been convened parallel to a high-level meeting of the ASEAN, whether the ASEANSummit (formal or informal) or the ASEANMinisterial Meeting. In 1998, the APF was held inBangkok, 1999 in Manila, in 2000 in Singapore andagain in Bangkok in 2001.

21


4. ASEAN Foundation

The ASEAN Foundation was established with thefollowing objectives:

• ‘To promote greater awareness of ASEAN andgreater interaction among the people’s of ASEANas well as their wider participation in ASEAN’sactivities inter alia through human resourcesdevelopment that will enable them to realise theirfull potential and capacity to contribute to theprogress of ASEAN as productive andresponsible members of society’

• ‘To contribute to the evolution of a developmentcooperation strategy that promotes mutualassistance, equitable economic development andthe alleviation of poverty.’

The work of the ASEAN Foundation (AF) isfocused on human resources development orprojects such as education, training, seminars,workshops, exchanges, network building,fellowships, and information dissemination.Academic and cultural institutions and non-governmental organisations recognised by ASEANare eligible for assistance from the Foundation.

The AF has a specific project proposal format,allowable project costs, disbursement procedures,and project activation requirements includingfinancial and accounting procedures, accountabilityand progress reports in a manual that is available tointerested organisations. It has a project cyclecalendar of approximately six months – from thesubmission of projects up to their approval forimplementation. There are roughly two projectcycles in one calendar year.

Established in December 1998, the AF is fullyoperational with relations both with governmentalorganisations and non-governmental organisations. Itfunds a variety of projects such as education,training, seminars, workshops, exchanges, network-building, fellowships and information dissemination.The projects funded are not only those of theASEAN Secretariat. Funding and applicationguidelines are available. [see: www.aseansec.org/99.htm].

5. ASEAN Human RightsMechanism

In 1996, a group of high-level academics, NGOleaders, former and incumbent parliamentarians formedthe Working Group for an ASEAN Human RightsMechanism and has been engaging ASEAN membercountries in a dialogue to establish the structures forthis at the regional and national level. One prerequisiteto the formation of the ASEAN Human RightsMechanism is the formation of a national human rightscommission in each of the ASEAN member countries.As of 2006, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines and Thailand have set up a national humanrights commission. Brunei, Laos, Myanmar (Burma),Singapore and Vietnam have yet to set up a nationalhuman rights commission.

At the 2005 Summit, the Malaysian Governmentpresented its proposal to work towards a regionalhuman rights mechanism in 2006.

22


23

Annexes

Annexes

Annex 1: Vientiane Action Programme (excerpt)

Annex 2: ASEAN Social-Cultural Community (ASCC) Plan of Action

Annex 3: Framework for the ASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Family andPopulation (2003 – 2006)

Annex 4: Framework Action Plan on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (2004 – 2010)

Annex 5: Work Plan on Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality (2005 – 2010)

Annex 6: Guidelines for ASEAN Relations with NGOs

Annex 7: Civil Society Presentation to ASEAN Heads of State and Government, 2005

24


25

Annex 1

VIENTIANE ACTION PROGRAMME (VAP)

2004-20101

I. PREAMBLE

Theme: Towards shared prosperity and destiny in an integrated, peaceful and caring ASEAN Community

WE, the Heads of State and Government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (hereinafter referred toas “ASEAN”), gathered here in Vientiane, Laos, on 29 November 2004 for the Tenth ASEAN Summit;

NOTING that ASEAN Vision 2020 envisions ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian Nations, outward-looking,living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in acommunity of caring societies;

NOTING FURTHER that the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA), the first in a series of action plans or programmesleading to the end-goal of ASEAN Vision 2020, ends in 2004 and that a successor action plan or programme isneeded to guide further progress towards ASEAN Vision 2020;

RECALLING the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, which elaborates on the themes of ASEAN Vision 2020by setting concrete milestones to reach the goals of a broad and comprehensive ASEAN Community, foundedon the three pillars of political and security cooperation, economic integration, and socio-cultural cooperation, toform the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-CulturalCommunity by 2020;

ACKNOWLEDGING that the global and regional economic environment has changed and is continuouslychallenged by new developments which have an impact on the trade and investment flows, and the economiccompetitiveness of ASEAN, and that ASEAN now has to work within a new strategic context;

RECOGNISING that deepening and broadening the integration of ASEAN must be accompanied by technicaland development cooperation to address the development gap among the Member Countries so that the benefitsof ASEAN integration are shared and which will enable all ASEAN Member Countries to move forward in aunified and cohesive manner;

REITERATING our commitment to strengthen efforts to narrow the development gap in ASEAN by buildingupon existing initiatives such as the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), the Roadmap for the Integration ofASEAN (RIA), the Ha Noi Declaration on Narrowing Development Gap for Closer ASEAN Integration of 23July 2001 and the Vientiane Declaration on Enhancing Economic Cooperation and Integration Among Cambodia,Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam of 28 November 2004;

DO HEREBY DECLARE THAT:

1. We agree to pursue the comprehensive integration of ASEAN towards the realisation of an open, dynamicand resilient ASEAN Community by 2020 as envisioned in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II and itsannexes in the form of the action plans of the ASEAN Security Community (ASC), the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) and the Recommendations of the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN EconomicIntegration;

26


2. We shall address, by various ways and means, the development issues and special needs of the less developedASEAN Member Countries and sub-regional areas of ASEAN, including the implementation of the concept of“Prosper Thy Neighbour” by instituting programmes to narrow the development gap, reducing socio-economic disparities and eradicating poverty within ASEAN, and by doing so, move forward in a unifying andcohesive manner to prosper ASEAN. We also recognize the contributions of sub-regional arrangements suchas, the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines ’East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Indonesia,Malaysia, Thailand-Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore-Growth Triangle (IMS-GT),ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC), Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) and theAyeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) to reducing the developmentgap within the region;

3. We shall strengthen further ASEAN’s institutional framework both in terms of its structure and process toensure that it is responsive to the challenges and needs of moving towards an ASEAN Community, includingin terms of coordination and efficiency as well as in strengthening its ability to shape events in Southeast Asiaand beyond;

4. We shall adopt greater outward-looking external relation strategies with our Dialogue Partners and friends inbuilding a peaceful, secure and prosperous ASEAN, strengthening our economic linkages and deepening oursocio-cultural cooperation with East Asia and beyond;

5. We recognise the need to strengthen ASEAN and shall work towards the development of an ASEAN Charter;

6. We shall, first and foremost, work closely between and among ourselves to generate our own indigenousresources as well as reach out to our Dialogue Partners and all others who wish to engage ASEAN on thebasis of equality, non-discrimination and mutual benefit, to build bridges between the public sector and allother sectors of society within and outside ASEAN in order to facilitate a synergy of experience, expertiseand resources available thereof for the attainment of the ASEAN Community;

7. We shall promote an ASEAN cultural heritage as a creative expression of the ASEAN spirit, and as a basis foran enduring bond of an ASEAN regional identity, since it originates from common ties throughout history anda shared aspiration for peace and prosperity;

8. We hereby endorse the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP), the successor to the HPA, to be implemented forthe period 2004-2010, as an instrument to unify and cross-link the strategies and goals of the three pillars ofthe ASEAN Community and as an integral part of the action plans and programmes building up to therealisation of the goals of ASEAN Vision 2020;

9. As the process leading to the establishment of the ASEAN Community is continuously evolving, the VAPshould therefore be perceived as an evolving document. Therefore, the lists of activities that are envisaged asbeing implementable in the period of 2004-2010, as contained in the various annexes to the VAP, are non-exhaustive; and

10.We commit ourselves, therefore, to implement the VAP paying attention to its two dimensions, the first beingthe broader integration of the ten Member Countries into one cohesive ASEAN Community, and the secondbeing the identification of new strategies for narrowing the development gap to quicken the pace ofintegration, and working closely among ourselves, with our Dialogue Partners and others, to mobilise politicalwill and generate the required resources for the effective implementation of the VAP.

27

Annex 1

II. GOALS AND STRATEGIES TOWARDS REALISING THE ASEANCOMMUNITY

1. ASEAN Security Community

2. ASEAN Economic Community

3. ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

4. Goals and Strategies for Narrowing the Development Gap

5. Implementation Mechanisms

(Note: Only 3. 'ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community', and 4. 'Goals and Strategies for Narrowing the DevelopmentGap' are reproduced in full here. For the full VAP text which includes 1. 'ASEAN Security Community', 2.'ASEAN Economic Community' and 5. 'Implementation Mechanisms', visit - http://www.aseance.org)

3. ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

Theme: Nurturing human, cultural and natural resources for sustained development in a harmonious and people-centred ASEAN

Strategic Thrusts

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) represents ASEAN’s aspirations to lift the quality of life of itspeoples, sustainably use natural resources and strengthen its cultural identity towards a people-centred ASEAN.The roadmap for the Community focuses on four strategic thrusts to support other ASEAN Community goals:strong and functional systems of social protection that address poverty, equity and health impacts of economicgrowth; promoting environmental sustainability and sustainable natural resource management that meets currentand future needs; social governance that manages impacts of economic integration; and the preservation andpromotion of the region’s cultural heritage and cultural identity.

Since economic growth could be threatened by social inequities that could in turn undermine political stability, theASEAN socio-cultural action programme is linked inextricably with the economic and security pillars of theASEAN Community. The establishment of the ASCC stems from the premise that economic integration andsecurity alone will not be sufficient to realise the vision of an ASEAN Community.

The human, natural and cultural resources of ASEAN provide the means for economic growth. The sustainabledevelopment and conservation of these resources allows for the region to prosper now and into the future,thereby enabling people to uplift their living standards and have a decent and healthy lifestyle. Measures taken topromote social protection, cultural identity, the conservation of natural resources and the protection of theenvironment fuel economic growth and sustain life.

28


3.1 Building a Community of Caring Societies

The hallmark of a strong and resilient community of caring societies is its commitment and capability to addressthe core issues of poverty, equity and health. National initiatives will fundamentally drive the manner and extent towhich these issues are addressed. However, the Member Countries can gain significant leveraging of politicalcommitment and goals at the national level through regional advocacy.

The regional interventions that will complement the national actions include:

i. Raising the standard of living of marginalised, disadvantaged groups by strengthening the capacity of officialsin rural development and poverty alleviation administrations and promoting approaches that engage thesegroups in society;

ii. Facilitating universal access to education and promoting high standards through networking and institutionalcollaborations.

iii. Reducing the social risks faced by children, women, elderly and persons with disabilities, by supportingprogrammes consistent with international conventions and promoting services such as aged care, health careand education;

iv. Increasing the effective participation of family, civil society and the private sector in tackling poverty andsocial welfare issues through the establishment of networking and exchange programmes, and promoting theprofessions involved in poverty and social welfare issues;

v. Increasing the participation of women and youth in the productive workforce through skills training andincreasing access to microfinance and information systems;

vi. Addressing health development concerns;

vii. Preventing the spread and reducing the harm of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases;

viii. Enhancing food security, in particular the establishment of food security information systems;

ix. Ensuring a region of disaster-resilient nations by minimising the adverse effects of disasters in pursuit of safercommunities and sustainable development.

x. Ensuring a Drug Free ASEAN by 2015 through prevention, treatment and community-based control of drugabuse, including the promotion of alternative development, as well as the elimination of drug trafficking; and

xi. Promoting science and technology in ASEAN to improve regional human resources by developing science andtechnology culture and increasing usage of applied science and technology in socio-economic activities.

3.2 Managing the Social Impact of Economic Integration

Domestic policy adjustments and emerging regional production arrangements from economic integration will havea profound social impact that will be felt mostly in the labour market. Consequently there is a need to:

i. Enhance human resource development through the networking of skills training institutions, and thedevelopment of regional assessment and training programmes;

ii. Strengthen the capacity of governments to monitor labour markets and monitor human resource indicators;and

29

Annex 1

iii. Promote social protection and social risk management systems.

The inclusion of health services as one of the eleven priority sectors for vertical integration will require strategiesto address the impact of liberalisation in the health sector. In addition, the development of mutual recognitionarrangements shall facilitate labour mobility in the region and will support the realisation of the AEC.

3.3 Promoting Environmental Sustainability

The ASCC promotes a clean and green ASEAN with fully established mechanisms for sustainable development toensure the protection of the region’s environment, the sustainability of its natural resources and the high qualityof life of its people.

The medium-term strategies and milestones in pursuit of this goal are:

Environmental Management

i. Effectively address global environmental issues without impinging on competitiveness, or social and economicdevelopment based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility;

ii. Prevent transboundary haze pollution as a result of land and/or forest fires through concerted national effortsand intensified regional action and international cooperation, pursued in the context of sustainable developmentand in accordance with the provisions of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution;

iii. Establish a clean and green ASEAN, rich in cultural traditions (where the values and practices of the peopleare in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature), with citizens who are environmentally literate, imbuedwith the environmental ethic, and willing and capable to ensure the sustainable development of the regionthrough environmental education and public participation efforts;

iv. Aim for zero waste and minimal impact on the environment, and promote business opportunities inenvironmental goods and services, through relevant environmentally sound technologies;

v. Ensure cities/urban areas in ASEAN are environmentally sustainable, while meeting the social and economicneeds of the people; and

vi. Strive for harmonisation of environmental policies, legislation, regulations, standards and databases, takinginto account the national circumstances of Member Countries, to support the integration of the environmental,social and economic goals of the region.

Natural Resource Management

i. Ensure ASEAN’s coastal and marine environment are sustainably managed, representative ecosystems,pristine areas and species are protected; economic activities are sustainably managed, and public awareness ofthe coastal and marine environment instilled;

ii. Ensure ASEAN’s rich biological diversity is conserved, and sustainably managed, and the benefits arisingfrom these biological and genetic resources are fairly and equitably shared toward enhancing social, economicand environmental well-being;

iii. Promote sustainability of water resources to ensure sufficient water quantity of acceptable quality to meet the

30


needs of the people of ASEAN in terms of health, food security, the economy and the environment, takinginto consideration the strong linkage between water, health and poverty;

iv. Ensure sustainable management of land-based resources while enhancing optimum agricultural production;

v. Promote the sustainable management of forest resources and critical ecosystems through the eradication ofunsustainable practices as well as strengthening the preservation and management of the ASEAN HeritageParks; and

vi. Promote environmentally sound and socially responsible mineral development practices in the sustainablemanagement and optimum utilisation of mineral resources.

3.4 Promoting an ASEAN Identity

Amidst the diversity of their historical experience and cultural heritage, common threads of historical ties,habitation of a geographical area and aspirations for peace and prosperity weave the ASEAN nations together andform the foundations of an ASEAN identity. The strategies to foster ASEAN awareness and build an ASEANidentity are:

i. Mainstream the promotion of ASEAN awareness and regional identity in national communications plans andeducational curricula, people-to-people contact including through arts, tourism and sports, especially amongthe youth, and the promotion of ASEAN languages learning through scholarships and exchanges of linguists;

ii. Preserve and promote ASEAN cultural heritage through the promotion of exchanges, meetings of experts andthe implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on Cultural Heritage;

iii. Encourage dialogue amongst Member Countries to promote a deeper understanding of the regions’civilisation, cultures and religions; and

iv. Further promote ASEAN’s standing in the international community through the proactive engagement ofASEAN in international issues and strengthening communication mechanisms.

4. Goals and Strategies for Narrowing The Development Gap

Theme: Progressing together through cooperation in development

We have explicitly and repeatedly declared the need to narrow the development gap if ASEAN Member Countriesare to move forward in a unified manner to realise Vision 2020. This need was first recognised and officiallyannounced in the Hanoi Declaration on Narrowing Development Gap for Closer ASEAN Integration of 2001. Itwas reaffirmed in the Bali Concord II of 2003.

The development gap is often manifested by disparity in per capita GDP (income). It can also be manifested bydisparities in other dimensions of human development, such as life expectancy and the literacy rate. The gap canalso be measured by disparity in poverty incidence.

The gap must be narrowed as an end in itself, if the principle that development is a fundamental human right is tobe followed. It must also be narrowed, as a necessary condition for realising the end goal of economicintegration: one community of ten nations functioning as a single market and production base. Indeed, efforts to

31

Annex 1

narrow the development gap would be self-reinforcing. They would help remove the biggest constraint to theformation of the AEC, which in turn would help narrow that gap.

4.1 Goal

The practical goal of the VAP for narrowing the development gap is to reduce the large disparities in terms of percapita GDP as well as other human development dimensions. The development gap exists between the ASEAN-6and the CLMV countries, and within the ASEAN-6 countries, where some isolated pockets of underdevelopmentpersist.

To realise this goal, ASEAN Member Countries will determine and agree, at an appropriate forum the extent towhich the gap could be realistically narrowed through the VAP by 2010 and its successor programmes or plansof action by 2015 and by 2020. By sharing experiences on how they have planned and implemented theirdevelopment policies, strategies and programmes, Member Countries can draw lessons from one another andapply these to their own development strategies.

4.2 Strategy

To achieve the goal, technical and development cooperation among ASEAN Member Countries and with DialoguePartners will be intensified as the main strategy to help less developed Member Countries accelerate the processof economic integration, but in a way that leads to equitable and inclusive development. A key element is toensure that regional cooperation supplements rather than supplants national efforts.

The Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), ASEAN’s main instrument for narrowing the development gap, willbe strengthened to address development needs of the CLMV and other sub-regional areas. This will includebroadening and deepening the scope of the IAI CLMV Work Plan as well as developing innovative modalities forresource mobilization. For the other sub-regional areas, it will involve strengthening the framework for sub-regional cooperation within ASEAN’s covering policy, coordination mechanisms and work programme.

Addressing both the benefit and cost of economic integration is another important feature of the strategy. To helpnarrow the development gap, it will seek to ensure that the benefit of economic integration is maximised andequitably distributed across and within Member Countries. It will also seek to ensure that the cost of integrationin terms of economic dislocation and disruption arising from market adjustments is minimised and the burden isequitably shared across and within Member Countries. Intensification of regional cooperation to prevent ormitigate the social costs of integration would also contribute directly towards the realisation of the two otherpillars of the ASEAN Community.

The programme for narrowing the development gap will include specific regional cooperation activities aimed atassisting less developed Member Countries in removing tariff, non-tariff and physical barriers to the free flow ofgoods and services in the product and factor market. The programme will also include activities that supplementnational efforts directly aimed at poverty reduction and the promotion of equitable and inclusive development.

32


33

Annex 2

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)

Plan of Action2

INTRODUCTION

The Vision of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

1. Embedded in ASEAN Vision 2020, Declaration of ASEAN Concord I (1976), Declaration of ASEAN ConcordII (2003) and the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA) is ASEAN’s goal of a community of cohesive, equitable andharmonious societies, bound together in solidarity for deeper understanding and cooperation. Its key features are:

• Equitable access to opportunities will be universal — rising above the barriers of religion, race, lan-guage, gender and social and cultural background;

• Human potentials are nurtured to the fullest, so that all individuals can participate meaningfully in acompetitive world in a manner that gives paramount importance to their welfare and dignity;

• Norms of social and distributive justice are upheld by addressing issues of poverty and equity, andspecial care is given to vulnerable groups — children, youth, women, the elderly, and persons withdisabilities — who could be the subject of abuse, neglect and discrimination;

• The environment and natural resources are protected and managed to sustain development and as alegacy for future generations;

• Civil society is engaged in providing inputs for policy choices;

• People are healthy in mind and body and living in harmony in safe environments; and

• ASEAN citizens interact in a community conscious of its ties of history, aware of its cultural heritageand bound by a common regional identity.

The Imperatives of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

2. The ASCC reflects ASEAN’s social agenda that is focused on poverty eradication and human development. Itis linked inextricably with the economic and security pillars of the ASEAN Community. Social inequities canthreaten economic development and in turn undermine political regimes. Economic instability can exacerbatepoverty, unemployment, hunger, illness and disease. Social instability can emerge from environmental scarcityor the inequitable distribution among stakeholders of the use of environmental assets. Failure to address thesecritical and persistent social issues can further cause both economic and political dislocations.

3. The ASCC will evolve amidst profound changes that are taking place in ASEAN’s social landscape. Theseinclude: (i) the rise of consumerism and lifestyle changes resulting from rapid economic growth; (ii) increasedpersonal mobility resulting from advances in infrastructure and more open regimes; (iii) transformation of thefamily roles and structures, with implications on the care of children and the elderly; (iv) the potential ofinformation technology to enhance the speed and quality of learning and development of human skills, thusnarrowing the digital divide; (v) the rapid pace of urbanisation and its impact on employment and the deliveryof basic services; (vi) shifts in the labour market resulting from economic integration; and (vii) unsustainableexploitation of natural resources in the process of meeting developmental needs.

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Plan of Action

4. This ASCC Plan of Action (PoA) will have four core elements:

34


• Building a community of caring societies to address issues of poverty, equity and human development;

• Managing the social impact of economic integration by building a competitive human resource base andadequate systems of social protection;

• Enhancing environmental sustainability and sound environmental governance; and

• Strengthening the foundations of regional social cohesion towards an ASEAN Community in 2020.

Building a Community of Caring Societies

5. Poverty alleviation, equity and human development lie at the very core of a strong and resilient ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Poverty reduction is fundamental to the development of the human potential, allowingpeople to participate fully in the mainstream of economic life and contribute to society. A community ofcaring societies in ASEAN can enhance the potential for production, consumption and wealth creation, thusensuring the benefits from economic integration. ASEAN Member Countries will therefore strive, individuallyand collectively, to build caring societies concerned with, committed to, and capable of addressingfundamental issues of poverty, equity and human development. Governments, private sector and civil societywill work in partnership to address these concerns.

6. Under the ASCC PoA, the goal of building an ASEAN community of caring societies will address thefollowing concerns:

• Accelerating the goal of poverty reduction within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs);

• Facilitating universal access to education for increased employability, good citizenship, and as a meansof empowerment and life-long learning;

• Promoting the welfare of children by safeguarding their rights, ensuring their survival and full develop-ment, and protecting them from abuse, neglect and violence;

• Promoting improved standards and access to education through networking and institutional collabora-tion, using existing regional bodies;

• Enabling youth to have a better future by developing their leadership skills, entrepreneurship, andtechnical and vocational abilities;

• Promoting equitable participation of women in the development process by eliminating all forms ofdiscrimination against them;

• Ensuring that the elderly are adequately cared for by promoting community-based support systems tosupplement the role of the family as primary caregiver;

• Augmenting and supporting the efforts of sectoral bodies to prevent and combat human trafficking,particularly in women and children, through comprehensive policies and measures;

• Strengthening the system of social welfare through the enhancement of national capacities in respond-ing to emerging social issues;

• Promoting health and nutrition, including through advocacy on health-related issues and healthy life-styles;

• Preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases (including SARS and Avian influenza)through, among others, sharing of experiences and best practices and systems of surveillance;

• Ensuring access to safe, quality and affordable medicines by building ASEAN capacity and competitive-

35

Annex 2

ness in pharmaceutical as well as traditional medicines and complementary and alternative medicines;

• Enhancing food security and safety as a fundamental requirement of human security;

• Ensuring a drug-free ASEAN by 2015 through community-based drug prevention, treatment and controlof drug abuse in parallel with eliminating drug-trafficking and illicit drug supply through law enforce-ment and alternative development for the sustainability of drug control; and

• Promoting a culture of science and technology and enhancing cooperation in the utilisation of appropri-ate applied science and technology in socio-economic activities to improve social well-being;

• Establishing efficient and well-functioning regional mechanisms for disaster prevention and relief thatare fully compatible with global disaster management systems.

Managing the Social Impact of Economic Integration

7. ASEAN Member Countries, as a community of caring societies, are committed individually and collectively,to address the impact of economic integration to minimise its social costs and ensure its benefits. Domesticpolicy adjustments and emerging regional production arrangements from economic integration will haveprofound social impact that will be felt mostly in the labour market.

8. To manage the social impact, the following key goals will be pursued under the ASCC PoA:

• Promoting human resource development to build a competitive labour force, through, among others,closer cooperation among existing regional centres in the area of education;

• Promoting an efficient labour market through mutual skills recognition arrangements to enhance re-gional mobility so that ASEAN’s workforce are prepared for and benefit from economic integration;such efforts would enable labour markets to operate efficiently with appropriate matching of jobs andskills;

• Strengthening systems of social protection at the national level and working towards adoption ofappropriate measures at the regional level to provide a minimum uniform coverage for skilled workersin the region;

• Addressing the impact of liberalisation in the health sector to meet the needs of ASEAN; and

• Promoting joint certification and accreditation of science and technology at the regional level to improvescience and technology competence of ASEAN’s human resources.

Enhancing Environmental Sustainability

9. A clean and green ASEAN, with fully developed mechanisms for environmental governance, is both a sharedgoal and responsibility of ASEAN Member Countries. ASEAN commitments to the Johannesburg Plan ofImplementation of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) have provided the framework forASEAN cooperation on the environment which currently focuses on ten priority areas: (i) globalenvironmental issues: (ii) land and forest fires and transboundary haze pollution; (iii) coastal and marineenvironment; (iv) sustainable forest management; (v) sustainable management of natural parks and protectedareas; (vi) freshwater resources; (vii) public awareness and environmental education; (viii) promotion ofenvironmentally sound technologies and cleaner production; (ix) urban environmental management andgovernance; and (x) sustainable monitoring and reporting, and database harmonisation.

36


10. Under the ASCC PoA, the following goals for promoting environmental sustainability will be pursued:

• Building national capacities to address issues and commitments to multilateral environmental agreementsthrough awareness raising and informed policy choices;

• Effectively managing transboundary haze in accordance with the ASEAN Agreement on TransboundaryHaze Pollution;

• Promoting the sustainable use of ASEAN’s coastal and marine environment as a source of food supplyand natural heritage;

• Conserving ASEAN’s rich biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits fromthese biological and genetic resources;

• Promoting the sustainable management of forest resources and conserving critical ecosystems throughthe eradication of unsustainable practices and related activities, as well as strengthening preservationand management of ASEAN Heritage Parks;

• Promoting the sustainability of water resources to ensure adequate and quality water supply to meetASEAN health and food needs;

• Promoting environmental education with the view to developing ASEAN citizens who are environmen-tally conscious;

• Promoting environmentally-sound technologies in partnership with the private sector;

• Ensuring quality living standards in ASEAN cities and urban areas;

• Augmenting and supporting the efforts of the ASEAN Economic Community through the energy sectorin developing alternative fuels in order to prevent environmental devastation and resource exhaustion;and

• Promoting environmentally sound and socially responsible mineral development practices in the sustain-able management and optimum utilisation of mineral resources.

Strengthening the Foundations of Regional Social Cohesion

11.With globalisation, many of the region’s traditional societies, with their cherished cultural norms andpractices, are facing new challenges. As ASEAN continues in its community-building efforts, the concern ishow to fulfil its aspirations for progress and prosperity while at the same time preserving its rich culturalheritage. Thus, the ASEAN Community envisaged to emerge from regional integration by 2020 is wherepeople, amidst the diversity of their historical and cultural experience, are conscious of a common regionalidentity. This sense of regional identity and solidarity will have been built on years of cumulative interaction inall facets of social and economic life and at all levels – communities, governments and civil society.

12.Under the ASCC PoA, the goal of creating an ASEAN identity involves:

• Mainstreaming the promotion of ASEAN awareness, regional identity and values in national communica-tions plans, educational curricula, people-to-people contact mainly through culture, arts and sports,especially among the youth, and the promotion of ASEAN languages learning through scholarships andexchanges of linguists;

• Preserving and promoting ASEAN cultural heritage and living traditions, as a vehicle to better under-stand the link between culture and development, and as a source of inspiration for future endeavours;

37

Annex 2

• Fostering dialogues among civilisations, cultures and religions as a means to foster better understanding,build confidence, and address threats to peace and security; and

• Promoting ASEAN’s standing in the international community.

Implementation Modalities

13.Specific measures envisaged under each of the four elements of the ASCC PoA are in Appendix A. Thesemeasures will be translated into more concrete projects and activities in the Vientiane Action Programme(VAP) covering the medium-term period 2004-2010. In general, ASCC activities fall into three categories: (i)nationally-driven initiatives: (ii) regional activities that enhance or complement national initiatives throughsharing of experiences, information and knowledge; establishment of regional networks; and joint regionalapproaches (e.g. the development of regional work programmes); and (iii) regional activities that involvedsetting up of regional mechanisms or standards.

14. For nationally-driven initiatives, ASEAN Member Countries shall prepare individual action plans for the period2005-2010 consistent with their respective national policies and development priorities, and taking intoaccount implementation capacity, including the availability of budgetary resources. Peer review andmonitoring of these individual action plans will be done at the level of the relevant ASEAN body, consolidatedby the ASEAN Secretariat, and reflected in the Secretary-General’s report card to the ASEAN Summit.

15.The AMM shall take necessary follow-up measures to implement this Plan of Action including consultationand coordination with other relevant ASEAN Ministerial bodies; setting up ad-hoc groups as appropriate;reporting annually the progress of implementation to the ASEAN Summit; as well as introducing newmeasures and activities to strengthen the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community as appropriate.

16.Self-reliance, shared responsibility and ownership are the principles that will guide the implementation ofASCC projects. The discipline of mainstreaming regional goals and commitments into the national plans andpriorities will be of paramount importance in order to secure the resources required for implementation.Regional advocacy can provide the leverage to help drive national level actions and secure the necessarybudget resources.

17.For regional level activities, particular attention will be given to activities that are best achieved throughregional cooperation because of resulting economies of scale, value-added, or strategic interests. Theseactivities will be implemented primarily through the relevant ASEAN bodies or through the ASEANSecretariat.

18.Implementing the ASCC PoA will require intensive and sustained capacity building at the national and regionallevels in a wide range of areas. Active participation of various stakeholders in ASCC activities will also beencouraged to draw from their wealth of expertise and experience and to promote a strong sense ofcommitment and ownership of projects and activities. Building region-wide networks of NGOs, trainingcentres, academic institutions and other ASEAN organisations will gradually weave into the fabric of theASEAN Community and help to strengthen social cohesion.

19. Mobilisation of resources will remain to be a key challenge for implementing various activities under theASCC PoA. Resource mobilisation, however, should increasingly be viewed as a process of mobilisingnational, regional and external resources — intellectual, technical and financial — in support of ASEANpriorities.

20.Finally, the ASEAN Foundation, with the full support of the Member Countries, should play a more active

38


role in supporting the implementation of the ASCC PoA. Activities where the ASEAN Foundation could playan active role include: promoting access to ICT resources of differently advantaged groups (youth, women,persons with disabilities, and rural communities); promoting ASEAN awareness through language training andmass media; and youth exchange activities (such as through volunteer programmes and youth camps) withthe view to facilitating greater awareness among ASEAN youth of the region’s vision of a cohesivecommunity of caring societies.

21.To realise the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community by 2020, ASEAN shall endeavour to work towards theimplementation of the areas of activities in the following Appendix. It is acknowledged that some of theseactivities are already ongoing and at various stages of implementation. Additional activities could also beimplemented in the future. ASEAN will make every effort to promptly carry out activities, which gainconsensus support.

39

Annex 2

APPENDIX A

for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)

Plan of Action

Specific Measures

I. Building a Community of Caring Societies

a) Implement an “MDG Plus” initiative to accelerate poverty reduction in ASEAN;

b) Facilitate universal access to education for vulnerable groups (youth, women, persons with disabilities) toobtain the skills and knowledge necessary for gainful employment and meaningful participation in society;

c) Strengthen educational networks and institutional collaboration to improve standards of, and access to,education;

d) Ensure a better future for children by safeguarding their rights, ensuring their survival and development, andprotecting them from abuse, neglect and violence;

e) Create enabling environments to prepare the youth for their future role as ASEAN citizens equipped with thenecessary skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, and technical and vocational abilities;

f) Promote the equitable and effective participation of women in all fields both as agents and beneficiaries ofdevelopment;

g) Promote community-based support systems for the elderly to supplement the role of families as primarycaregiver and to build the capacity of health care professionals to address the needs of the elderly;

h) Ensure access of persons with disabilities to opportunities and protection against all forms of discrimination;

i) Strengthen social welfare mechanisms to make them more responsive to emerging social issues resultingfrom globalisation as well as demographic shifts;

j) Strengthen regional mechanisms and networks for combating human trafficking;

k) Ensure a healthy ASEAN Community living in harmony and safe environments;

l) Promote an enabling environment for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and for the comprehensive treatment, careand support for people living with HIV/AIDS in ASEAN;

m) Enhance the effectiveness of regional surveillance, preparedness, early warning, and response to emergingand resurging infectious diseases;

n) Ensure access to safe, quality and affordable medicines by building ASEAN capacity and competitiveness inpharmaceuticals as well as traditional medicines/complementary and alternative medicines;

o) Promote an enabling environment that allows ASEAN citizens to make healthy lifestyle choices accessible,affordable and sustainable and consistent with their views, beliefs, and culture in supportive environments;

p) Strengthen food security by enhancing stability in food production and supply and protect the region againstfluctuations in production of basic commodities;

q) Strengthen food safety systems to ensure the protection of consumers’ health by increasing the level ofcredibility and competency of regulatory authorities, and enhancing industry and consumer awareness andparticipation in food safety;

40


r) Promote activities related to community-based drug prevention aimed at families, schools and youth throughpublications, campaigns and training;

s) Strengthen cooperation with the private sector, in creating a science and technology community in the region;

t) Promote applied science and technology in socio-economic activities to improve social well-being; and

u) Establish efficient and well-functioning regional mechanisms for disaster prevention and management,including a coordinated response action plan in ASEAN and a network of training institutes.

II. Managing the Social Impact of Economic Integration

a) Support the efforts of the ASEAN Economic Community to facilitate the movement of professional andskilled persons, including mutual skills recognition arrangements for qualification in professional services torealise regional economic integration in ASEAN;

b) Develop a well-prepared labour force in ASEAN that would benefit from and cope with the challenges ofregional economic integration;

c) Establish a technologically competitive ASEAN, competent in strategic and enabling technologies, with anadequate pool of technically trained manpower, strong networks of scientific and technical institutions andcentres of excellence;

d) Strengthen systems of social protection at the national level and work towards adoption of appropriatemeasures at the regional level to provide a minimum uniform coverage for skilled workers in the region;

e) Promote sound industrial relations, industrial harmony, high productivity and social practice through tripartitecooperation;

f) Secure the benefits of trade liberalisation in healthcare services in terms of increased availability and betteraccessibility to quality and affordable health-related products and services;

g) Enhance the competitiveness of ASEAN health and related industries;

h) Strengthen regional training on management of innovation and technology, and establish a mechanism for itsregional certification and accreditation; and

i) Consider the establishment of centres for training and research to support the development of humanresources and institutional capacity in regional as well as international cooperation.

III. Enhancing Environmental Sustainability

a) Effectively address global environmental concerns by building national capacities to address issues andcommitments to multilateral environmental agreements through awareness-raising and informed policychoices;

b) Effectively manage transboundary haze pollution resulting from land and/or forest fires through concertednational efforts and intensified regional action and international cooperation in accordance with the provisionsof the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (the Haze Agreement), including theoperationalisation of the ASEAN Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control and the ASEAN HazeFund;

c) Promote the sustainable use of ASEAN’s coastal and marine environment through the implementation of theASEAN criteria for marine waters, and marine heritage and protected areas;

41

Annex 2

d) Ensure the conservation of ASEAN’s rich biological diversity through the implementation of the ASEANFramework Agreement on Access to, and Equitable Sharing of Genetic and Biological Resources (expected tobe concluded in 2004);

e) Promote the sustainable management of forest resources, which include protection of forests in anecologically sound and integrated manner by developing and adopting common criteria for sustainable forestmanagement in ASEAN, and eradicating unsustainable practices and related activities;

f) Promote the preservation of ASEAN Heritage Parks through coordinated systems of management;

g) Promote sustainability of water resources to ensure sufficient water quantity of acceptable quality to meet theneeds of ASEAN in terms of health, food security and environmental sustainability through among others, thepromotion of integrated river basin management and awareness promotion;

h) Promote environmental education through formal and non-formal education systems, capacity building andnetworking;

i) Promote environmentally-sound technologies in active partnership with the business sector through innovativefinancial mechanisms and labelling schemes;

j) Promote quality living standards in ASEAN cities/urban areas by achieving standards for environmentalpollution reduction, including ensuring good ambient air and water quality, and minimum solid waste disposal;

k) Establish parameters for harmonising environmental policies, legislation, regulations, standards and databases,and preparing regular state of the environment reports; and

l) Pursue joint research in developing alternative fuels in order to prevent environmental devastation andresource exhaustion.

IV. Strengthening the Foundations of Regional Social Cohesion

a) Promote ASEAN awareness with the ultimate goal of fostering an ASEAN regional identity by promotinginteractions and exchanges among artists, writers, media practitioners, scholars, students, culturalentrepreneurs, professionals, experts in culture and sports and others;

b) Promote people-to-people contact, especially among the youth through youth volunteer programmes andyouth camps;

c) Promote ASEAN languages learning through scholarships and exchange of linguists;

d) Coordinate efforts for the documentation, preservation and safeguarding of national and regional treasures andother properties, antiquities, and works of historic, archaeological, anthropological and scientific significance;

e) Enhance ASEAN cooperation in culture and information to formulate and implement effective and efficientprogrammes in a concerted manner in order to promote the rich and vast cultures of ASEAN;

f) Promote confidence-building at the national and regional levels by promoting the learning of core values,customs and traditions and integrating multiple perspectives on civilisations through regular dialoguemechanisms; and

g) Promote an image of unity, stability and dynamism of ASEAN by strengthening contacts with mass media,the international fora and other channels of communication.

42


43

Annex 3

Framework for the ASEAN Work Programme

on Social Welfare, Family and Population

(2003 – 2006)3

I. INTRODUCTION

Overall Objective:

The work programme aims to assist the ASEAN Ministers of Social Welfare and Development to realize theASEAN Leaders’ vision of a socially cohesive and caring ASEAN by 2020 where hunger, malnutrition, deprivationand poverty are no longer basic problems; where families as the basic units of society tend to their members,particularly the children, youth, women and elderly, and are capable of meeting new challenges arising from rapidsocial and economic changes; where the civil society, including the community is empowered and gives specialattention to the disadvantaged, disabled and marginalized.

Specific objectives:

a) To strengthen and intensify regional cooperation in enhancing the role of families, communities, civil society(including non-governmental organizations), the private sector and the government in managing socialproblems, meet human needs and maximise opportunities for development;

b) To enhance capacity for anticipating and managing the social consequences of rapid demographic, political,social and economic changes, especially in the context of trade liberalisation and globalisation;

c) To promote the use of developmental as well as participatory approaches in helping the marginalised anddisadvantaged to become independent and to facilitate their integration into society; and

d) To enhance the capacity of social welfare/social development ministries to mainstream social concerns into thenational development agenda.

II. CHALLENGES

a) Changing structure of the family and its capacity to care due to increased labour participation rate for women;changing roles of men and women in the family; later marriages; increased number of female-headedhouseholds; increased rates of divorce or separation; migration; decline in household size and declining supportfrom extended families;

b) The impact of demographic change, economic development, trade liberalization and developments ininformation and communication technology (ICT) on family and social welfare and the need for social welfarepolicies that are proactive and multisectoral;

c) The lack of reliable information on the nature and extent of social problems in the region;

d) The shortage of professionally trained social workers in strengthening social care and support; and

e) The special needs of the CLMV region, particularly as this relates to the rehabilitation and integration of victimsof war.

44


III. STRATEGIES FOR PROGRAMMING REGIONAL COOPERATION

1. The following are strategies for programming regional cooperation on social welfare, family andpopulation:

a) To promote capacity-building and human resource development in addressing social welfare anddevelopment issues.

b) To enhance the integration of social issues into national development planning at all levels and tostrengthen coordination with other ASEAN bodies;

c) To promote policies, strategies and mechanisms such as cost-sharing that will foster self-reliance andsustainability in mobilising resources for implementing social welfare/development initiatives;

d) To strengthen cooperation with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, regional and international agencies andcivil society groups; and

e) To formulate ASEAN common positions to prepare for international meetings.

2. A “regional” project means that the project has clear “value-added” or comparative advantage over nationalactivities. The following are some criteria to consider in formulating projects for the regional workprogramme:

a) Regional activities are those which address problems that are transboundary in nature or require inter-country cooperation. For example, regional trade integration and efforts to combat transboundary hazeand trafficking in persons, are “regional” in the sense that these problems occur across borders and canonly be addressed effectively through inter-country cooperation.

b) Regional activities are those which facilitate the implementation of, or commitment to, internationalconventions and other regional and international instruments on social welfare and development. Anactivity is regional if it provides an opportunity for Member Countries which are signatories to interna-tional conventions to share experiences on difficulties and solutions encountered in their implementation.Regional fora of this kind also provide opportunities for strengthening commitment to internationallyaccepted objectives.

c) Activities which promote the formulation of an ASEAN consensus at international and regional fora canalso be considered regional. The Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development(SOMSWD) Terms of Reference already includes the formulation of common positions, as appropriate,in preparation for international conferences on issues related to social welfare and development. Thepresentation of the Declaration on Commitments for Children in ASEAN to the UN General AssemblySpecial Session on Children in 2002 by the Chair of the 4th AMRSW is a good example.

d) Regional activities are those which promote learning from regional best practices. The diversity inlevels of development among ASEAN Member Countries, far from being a liability, could be an assetfor regional cooperation. This situation enables the less-developed countries to learn from their moreadvanced counterparts. Knowing about what other countries are doing can also potentially promotesynergistic linkages between institutions, promote economies of scale and prevent duplication of ef-forts. Activities which facilitate regional learning include networking of centres of excellence (throughthe internet or regular focused meetings); compilation of best practice models, guidelines, standards,etc; compilation of directories of researchers, experts, resources and the like.

e) Regional activities are those which promote linkages among centres of excellence through the establish-

45

Annex 3

ment of networks. ASEAN networks ranging from higher education to occupational safety and healthhave been established to promote, in particular, the sharing of information, best practice knowledge andtraining resources. The SOMSWD TOR included a statement on promoting the networking of “socialdevelopment institutions, professionals, practitioners and centers of excellence in teaching and researchin the region”.

f) Regional activities are those which build a capacity for compiling regional indicators and trends.

g) Regional activities are those which take advantage of economies of scale. A good example is training oftrainers course carried out in one ASEAN country, for participants from all Member Countries, insteadof having ten different trainings in ten different locations.

3. These criteria for ensuring regionality could be used for future meetings of the SOMSWD to select projectsfor the regional work programme which have comparative advantage over national projects.

IV. PRIORITY PROGRAMME AREAS

4. In identifying the priority areas for regional cooperation, two kinds of strategies could be considered. Theseare: non-programme (for activities that do not require proposals) and programme strategies for those thatrequire the preparation of a proposal for funding from a donor agency or Dialogue Partner.

A. Non-Programme Strategy

a) Formulating common positions in preparation for international meetings and/or activities on social welfareand development.

5. In order to facilitate the formulation of common positions in advance of international meetings and/oractivities, the chairperson and host of a SOMSWD Meeting could consult Member Countries to proposeagenda items for the SOMSWD to consider formulating ASEAN common positions in preparation forupcoming international meetings or activities on social welfare and development.

b) Facilitating discussion of policy issues as well as the exchange of experiences

6. SOMSWD may also wish to give priority to discussion of strategic policy issues such as globalization, asdirected by the 4th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Social Welfare (AMRSW4) held inAugust 2001, as well as share experience on innovative approaches to social development and the provision ofsocial welfare services. The SOMSWD Meeting agenda could include a regular item on exchange of views onpolicy and technical issues and the host could propose a theme or themes for discussion.

c) Sharing information on current national training activities which are open to other ASEAN Countries forparticipation

7. If a Member Country is planning to conduct training programmes in English under SOMSWD priority areas, itmay wish to inform SOMSWD Focal Points and invite them to send participants to the training, at their ownexpense. With this approach, priority issues of the SOMSWD could be implemented without the need toprepare project proposals or reliance on external funding. To facilitate this exchange of information, MemberCountries who wish to invite other countries to their activities could first inform the ASEAN Secretariat whichcould then circulate the invitations to other countries for consideration. A regular agenda item on suchtrainings could also be included on the SOMSWD agenda.

46


B. Programme Strategy

8. This section will concern the three priority areas of the SOMSWD for which proposals could be prepared andsubmitted for funding consideration by Dialogue Partners and other funding agencies. The priority areas aresocial welfare, family and population (children is the fourth area of priority but will be addressed through aseparate work programme, to be prepared in cooperation with UNICEF). In this work programme, socialwelfare and development and the family will be taken as one priority cluster while population forms the othercluster.

B 1. Social Welfare and Development and the Family

9. Cooperation on social welfare matters has generally not been translated into specific projects/programmes ofcooperation at ASEAN level, even though broad priorities have been identified by previous meetings of theAMRSW. Nevertheless, the Meeting of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Social Welfare in Kuala Lumpurheld in March 1990 considered a number of proposals, including strategies for the development of socialwelfare in ASEAN, improving rural life, information exchanges, and the holding of meetings among socialwelfare experts including NGOs. The ASEAN Plan of Action on Social Development adopted by theCommittee on Social Development (COSD) in 1995 unfortunately did not provide guidance on this matter andjust states that existing programmes and social welfare should be strengthened and new ones developed.

10.It will be recalled that a proposal to establish a sub-committee on social welfare was turned down by the 2ndMeeting of the AMRSW held in 1990 in Kuala Lumpur. With the absence of a sub-committee dedicated tosocial welfare issues, the status quo then prevailed, with several pending projects languishing for years underthe former Committee on Social Development (COSD) until they were eventually dropped from the agenda ofthe COSD Meetings, except for two projects concerning families: “Strengthening Families” and “Community-Based Family Well-Being”. With the SOMSWD now replacing the COSD to focus on social welfare, family,population and children, there is an opportunity to revitalize cooperation on social welfare and the family.

11.SOMSWD could begin with a set of programmes that are cross cutting for the entire sector of social welfaredevelopment, focusing on establishing the infrastructure for care and exchange of information on socialdevelopment issues. To achieve these objectives, there is a need to strengthen capacity to anticipate theimpact of external developments, as well as set up the infrastructure for the family and community to providecare. An effort will be made to include activities for which a regional approach may have “added value” orcomparative advantage over national initiatives. Any further operationalisation would have to take into accounton-going and planned initiatives in Member Countries and international agencies.

12.With these objectives in mind, cooperation programmes could be classified into these basic categories: policyresearch; regional networking; training (including exchange of trainees and experts); and advocacy/publicinformation.

(i) Policy research

13.Policy research will include activities intended to promote the capacity of the region’s ministries anddepartments responsible for social welfare/family and population to anticipate the social impact ofdevelopment. In particular, SOMSWD may wish to consider developing a capacity for undertaking socialimpact assessments, particularly as this relates to the impact of trade liberalization and development.

47

Annex 3

Recommended Activities:

a) Strengthen capacity for carrying out Social Impact Assessments (including impact of development onfamily functioning);

b) Policy research on the changing structure of the family and its role in providing care;

c) Documenting effective policies/best practice cases from the region for strengthening support for familycare provision, including public policy for strengthening “traditional family values”;

d) Policy based research on the welfare impact of trade liberalization and global economic integration onsocial development, and identify effective policy measures for improving social protection/security andwell-being (in collaboration with the Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and PovertyEradication);

e) Developing a common approach for documenting “social problems”; and

f) Sharing and documenting lessons learned in solving social problems.

(ii) Regional networking

14.Apart from government ministries and departments, many other institutions and groups work in the area ofsocial development. They include universities, research centers, schools of social work, communityorganizations, professional associations and the like. Given the generally easy access to the internet in theregion, networking among such groups can be accomplished without too much cost. The use of interactivewebsites and video conferencing could also be explored as ways to intensify networking to exchangeinformation and share experience. As a start, virtual networks could be established for professional socialworkers associations, family studies research centres and schools of social work, for example.


a) ASEAN Network for Family Development [could involve government agencies, university researchcenters, NGO and community groups];

b) Explore the establishment of a regional network for Schools of Social Work; and

c) Promote regional networking of professional social workers, NGOs and private sector groups involvedin social services education or provision of care.

(iii) Training/Capacity Building

15.Training has been the mainstay of ASEAN cooperation in the social sectors. For this to be even moreeffective, it may be useful to identify centers of excellence in training from among member countries and toconsider utilizing them as regional resource centres for particular specialties. While some countries haveidentified resource centers in their countries, much more work needs to be done in implementing trainingprogrammes based on the principle of comparative advantage. Another strategy for capacity-building couldbe to facilitate exchanges of trainees and trainers across the region through focused attachment programmes.

16.Training is also a major priority for the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) which has the objective offacilitating the integration of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV) into ASEAN. A majorcomponent of the initiative is HRD, with training programmes offered by the more developed ASEANcountries to meet the needs of CLMV countries. ASEAN Leaders, at their 4th Informal Summit held in 2000adopted as part of the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement the goal of reducing the digital divide in the region.SOMSWD could also consider developing activities for promoting access to ICT for the disadvantaged, inparticular persons with disabilities.

48



a) Strengthening the role of community and non-governmental organizations in providing community-based social services for selected target groups (persons with disabilities, older persons, juvenileoffenders, ex-prisoners, ex-drug dependents, for example) [explore participation in the project of theSenior Officials Meeting on Health Development (SOMHD) on strengthening community based care forthe older persons and the ASEAN-ROK project on home-based care for the older persons];

b) Sharing of resources for specialized training for professional social workers based on identification ofpriority areas and centers of excellence in the region;

c) ASEAN Social Workers Exchange Programme (development of an attachment programme for trainersand policy makers at social welfare agencies on selected priority areas);

d) Promote development of prevention strategies and community-based social care and support servicesfor persons with HIV/AIDS (in line with ASEAN Work Programme on HIV/AIDS, II, 2002-2005, andin collaboration with the ASEAN Task Force on AIDS);

e) Coordinate with the Asia-Pacific Development Centre on Disability Project to facilitate access ofASEAN Member Countries to regional level training programmes;

f) Development of a programme to increase capacity for producing prostheses and other assistive devicesfor persons with disabilities, including facilitating access to available research, innovative productionmethods and explore joint procurement for assistive devices and raw materials for their manufacture;and

g) Development of a work plan to facilitate access of persons with disabilities to ICT (explore collabora-tion with UNESCAP).

(iv) Advocacy/public information

17.To be effective, social policy has to be strategic and proactive, that is, it needs to understand not only thedevelopmental trends impacting on policy but should also be able to recommend pre-emptive measures andperhaps more importantly, effective working linkages with other developmental sectors. Advocacy includesefforts to keep social issues on the national development agenda. At another level, advocacy can also addressstigma and discrimination against disadvantaged persons (for example persons living with disability) throughpublic education and other means like the formulation of protective legislation.


a) Promote sharing of experience to facilitate the mainstreaming of social welfare concerns into thenational development agenda; and

b) Sharing best practices and strategies for reducing discrimination of persons with disabilities, peoplewith HIV/AIDS and also persons undergoing rehabilitation.

B 2. Population

18.The ASEAN Population Programme (APP) was begun in 1976 with assistance from the UN Fund forPopulation Activities (UNFPA) and Australia. Four phases of the APP have been implemented (Phase 1, 1976-1979; II, 1980-1983; III, 1984-1988; IV, 1989-1993). Under phase III the following projects wereimplemented: integration of population and development; population mobility and urbanization; training onpopulation and development; socio-economic consequences of ageing; and the ASEAN population informationnetwork.

49

Annex 3

19.Phase IV covered urbanization, population and development planning; family planning management; healthand social programmes for the older persons; and infant mortality reduction. The APP was terminated withthe completion of Phase IV in 1993 when the funding needed did not materialise.

20.Since priority areas under the ASEAN Work Programme on Social Welfare, Family and Population and thevulnerable groups targeted such as the older persons were identified based on current and anticipateddemographic trends, the population dimension has therefore been integrated into these issues. In view of themany bilateral and multilateral initiatives (such as those under the UN) on population and development in theASEAN region, the component on population should be deferred until such time when there is a need toaddress issues such as population mobility and HIV vulnerability or labour migration, for example. In thatcase, a Member Country could volunteer to coordinate development of the collaboration plan on population,with assistance from the ASEAN Secretariat to obtain funding for the services of a consultant. Thecoordinator, assisted by an expert could do the following, among other tasks, to prepare a plan:

a) survey needs in the region and to identify the niche for ASEAN cooperation on population;

b) review externally funded on-going population related projects and activities in the ASEAN region;

c) seek opportunities for collaboration within and outside the region;

d) develop the draft regional programme comprising tentative project concepts; and

e) convene a regional workshop of officials from the national agencies responsible for population mattersto review and consider the plan for adoption.

V. GUIDELINES FOR OPERATIONALISING THE WORK PROGRAMME

1. Identifying Country Coordinators for Proposed Projects (Lead Shepherd Approach)

21.Since many of the project ideas under this work programme have yet to be developed into proposals, focalpoints at each SOMSWD meeting may wish to indicate interest in coordinating projects in which they haveexpertise or experience so that they could proceed to prepare the needed project proposals.

22.Member Countries interested in coordinating the development of projects for cost sharing or submission toDialogue Partners for funding will prepare their respective project proposals, submit them to the ASEANSecretariat for circulation to all SOMSWD Focal Points prior to a SOMSWD meeting.

23.If a project is to be cost-shared the guidelines for cost-sharing as stated in the next section would apply.

2. Utilising Cost Sharing Arrangements

24.Given the overall decline in external funding for ASEAN functional cooperation, cost-sharing may need to bethe predominant modality for implementing the proposed activities under this framework work programme.Cost-sharing in ASEAN means that a host country organizing an activity will undertake to defray theorganizing costs while participating countries pay their travel and per diem costs of their representatives.

25.The following guidelines apply to a host country organizing an activity, seminar and workshop (particularlythose implemented on a cost-sharing basis):

a) A Member Country considers hosting cost-shared project for SOMSWD priority area for which it hasexpertise or experience or on-going/planned activities which could be open to all Member Countries;

50


b) The hosting Member Country announces intention to host activity and indicates tentative dates;

c) Circulates TOR and/or programme for the activity to SOMSWD Focal Points after the project has beenaccepted by the SOMSWD as a SOMSWD cost-shared project;

d) Member Countries then provide comments on the activity TOR/programme;

e) If requested by Hosting Country, the ASEAN Secretariat consults relevant international agencies forresource persons or experts to draft state of the art papers surveying international and regional bestpractice;

f) The host country prepares TOR for international expert/resource person, in consultation with ASEANSecretariat;

g) Interested participating countries seek their own funding for attending activity;

h) The host country prepares a media plan involving print, TV and radio to publicize the activity;

i) The host country could consider providing airport transfers; local hospitality; lunches and tea-breaks;welcome and farewell dinners;

j) The host country distributes feedback form to all delegates and prepares a summary evaluation basedon the feedback received; and

k) The host country prepares and distributes press release.

3. Collaboration with International Agencies and ASEAN Dialogue Partners

26.Efforts to promote linkages with international agencies need to be strengthened as part of a larger strategy formobilizing resources and in promoting complementarity of activities. In this regard, there are two possiblestrategies which could facilitate such linkages. Firstly, as directed by the AMRSW4, the ASEAN Secretariatwould explore closer collaboration with international agencies such as UNFPA, UNICEF and ESCAP, and,where appropriate, ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, with a view to possibly concluding memoranda ofunderstanding

27.Secondly, SOMSWD should encourage relevant UN agencies and international social welfare NGOs to attendits meetings where appropriate to provide information on on-going or planned activities in the workprogramme priority areas.

28.Thirdly, the ASEAN Secretariat should attend the relevant meetings of these UN agencies as a strategy forpreventing duplication and also to facilitate joint implementation of projects in areas of mutual priority.

VI. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

29.Monitoring and evaluation will be given high priority. Each Member Country implementing a project, whethercost-shared or externally funded, should also prepare a project completion report prepared on the basis of astandardized feedback form to be filled in by all participants. At each SOMSWD, the ASEAN Secretariat willprepare an annual report highlighting overall progress made: achievements, problems encountered andrecommendations for future implementation.

30.Since the work programme is for a four-year period from 2003 to 2006, a mid-term review will be conductedbefore the end of 2004. The mid-term review results could be submitted to the First AMMSWD Meetingscheduled in November 2004 in Chiangmai, Thailand.

51

Annex 4

Framework Action Plan on Rural Development

and Poverty Eradication (2004-2010)4

Part I: Introduction and Strategic Directions

1. The Third Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (AMRDPE) heldon 16 December 2002 called for a review of ASEAN cooperation on rural development and povertyeradication, including a reassessment of the mandate of the ASEAN Task Force on Social Safety Nets(established in December 1998). The review would also identify new priorities for ASEAN cooperation inrural development and poverty eradication to respond to challenges of globalisation, trade liberalisation andregional integration. An ASEAN Session on Revitalising Cooperation on Rural Development and PovertyEradication convened on 20 June 2003 recommended the following new priorities5:

• Globalisation

• Narrowing the Digital Divide, promoting the use of ICT as a tool

• Social Protection

• Employment and Income-generation

• Partnerships, Decentralisation, Local Participation

• Narrowing the Development Gap

• Others

- Voluntary movement for rural development

- Possible exchange programme of young professionals dealing in rural development and povertyeradication

- Public information

2. The ASEAN Secretariat was tasked to develop a framework action plan. Member countries which indicatedinterest to coordinate some of the priority areas would provide the ASEAN Secretariat with workplans. The4th SOMRDPE held in December 2003 reviewed a preliminary draft Framework.

Strategic Directions to Respond to Emerging Trends

3. The Framework Action Plan is based on the AMRDPE vision (established in 1997) to eradicate povertyplacing emphasis on “promoting the development of progressive, prosperous and self-reliant ruralcommunities” towards “creating a caring society” in the ASEAN Member Countries.

4. The Framework Action Plan’s priorities would address the AMRDPE’s call for:

• innovative and holistic strategies to facilitate access of the rural and urban poor to public utilities andfacilities;

52


• providing a conducive environment for income-generation and employment opportunities for the pooras well as assistance to link small rural economies to markets; and

• building capacity and occupational skills of the rural people and urban poor – especially in the area ofinformation and communication technology

5. To realize Leaders’ Vision of an ASEAN Community by 2020, the 9th ASEAN Summit (October 2003)identified three mutually reinforcing pillars namely political and security cooperation, economic cooperation,and socio-cultural cooperation. The ASEAN socio-cultural community would be “a community of caringsocieties” where the “development and enhancement of human resources is a key strategy for employmentgeneration, alleviating poverty and socio-economic disparities, and ensuring economic growth with equity”.

6. Additionally, the following on-going priorities identified since AMRDPE’s establishment in 1997 will continueto be addressed by the Framework Plan:

a) Facilitating regional networking among governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), privatesector, business sector and research institutes;

b) Sharing of information, best practices, lessons learnt, research capacity and technical expertise;

c) Developing a regional rural volunteer programme; and

d) Promoting greater public awareness on the need to accelerate rural development and poverty eradica-tion.

Part II: Priority Areas

A. Globalisation (Coordinator: ASEAN Secretariat)

7. Since its establishment, AMRDPE has sought to address the impact of globalisation and informationtechnology in rural areas. Successive AMRDPEs have called for activities focusing on the longer-termimpact of globalisation on the poor and marginalised.

8. ASEAN will carry out several activities to address poverty monitoring and the impact of trade liberalisation onsocial well-being. These include a study on the social cost of realising an ASEAN economic community;policy reviews to develop fast-track approach to fight poverty (including social protection policies and socialinvestments); preparation of a Southeast Asia Human Development Report; enhancing poverty monitoringsystems; and capacity development on risk and vulnerability indicators.

9. Initiatives that would complement these activities are:

a) Study the links between rural development and poverty eradication with trade liberalisation, globalisationand economic integration:

i. Convene a workshop to share strategies on the implementation of Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) in ASEAN;

ii. Document effective policies and best practice cases from the region and elsewhere on the impactof trade liberalisation and (global) economic integration on rural development and poverty eradica-tion; and

iii. Prepare and compile regional statistics on poverty, in collaboration with the ASEAN SecretariatStatistics Unit, to enhance research, assessment and monitoring of poverty.

53

Annex 4

b) Build capacity of ASEAN officials to:

i. Develop integrated economic and social policies that would assist rural development and povertyeradication;

ii. Carry out research, assessment and monitoring of poverty, so as to improve poverty measurementmethodologies in ASEAN countries;

iii. Establish and strengthen national social information and monitoring mechanisms; and

iv. Establish a regional poverty portal (database and information).

B. Narrowing the Digital Divide, Promoting the use of ICT as a tool (Coordinator:Malaysia)

10.AMRDPE has committed to promote meaningful participation of the poor and the marginalised in the new globaleconomy, especially through improving access to social services and to information and communicationtechnology. This would support the commitment of the ASEAN Leaders to reduce the digital divide in theregion.

11.Regional activities would focus on enhancing IT awareness and utilisation among the rural populace in ASEANcountries, to facilitate the transition from traditional agro-based communities into those adequately prepared forregional economic integration. A good example is the project on “Sharing Best Practices on Empowering RuralCommunities to Utilise ICT as a Tool to Enhance Income” implemented by Malaysia from 31 May to 2 June2004. National strategies to bridge the digital divide could include the computerisation of rural schools,provision of internet access, ICT-training for the rural communities and urban poor, and other innovative waysto promote the use of ICT as a tool for rural development and poverty eradication.

12. Other recommended activities at the regional and national levels are:

a) Increase the use of ICT as a tool by rural development practitioners and coordinators for operationalefficiency:

i. Improve networking with regional and international agencies that carry out relevant capacity-building activities on ICT access to enable participation of ASEAN Member Countries in theirongoing and planned activities; and

ii. Develop work plans (at national level) to facilitate access of ICT to the rural population.

b) Provide the basic ICT infrastructure in rural areas:

i. Network the rural areas through computerisation of rural schools and provision of internet accessto rural areas.

c) Enhance IT awareness and utilisation among the poor and marginalised to improve access to socialservices:

i. Assist ongoing national-level policies and programmes that promote ICT awareness and skillsamong the local and rural communities; and

ii. Provide ICT-training for the rural communities and urban poor.

C. Social Protection (Coordinator: Philippines)

13.The 4th SOMRDPE in December 2003 agreed that SOMRDPE’s work in this area should give priority to socialprotection for agricultural workers and the informal sector 7.

54


14.The ASEAN Task Force on Social Safety Nets (ATFSSN) was dissolved in December 2003, as it hadcompleted its core functions. Building on the work that had been done on Social Safety Nets, e.g. the jointASEAN-AusAID Social Safety Nets Project (May 2001-March 2002) SOMRDPE would henceforth addresspriorities for social protection, particularly:

• capacity-building of civil society organisations in social services delivery;

• increasing of the involvement of non-governmental and civil society organisations; and

• facilitating adjustment to economic restructuring (proactive social protection).

15.Some other recommended activities are:

a) Assess the social protection needs of individual member countries based on vulnerabilities beyond thoselinked to industrial restructuring:

i. Study the impact of rapid urbanisation and internal migration, cultural disintegration, overseaswork and migration of both men and women, and others.

b) Strengthen and establish effective capacity of civil society organisations and private sectors groups notonly for social services delivery, but more prominently for facilitating and intensifying local communityand/or local government roles in social safety and protection:

i. Build capacity through inter-country training cum exchange projects;

ii. Document and evaluate lessons from community-driven development programmes and socialfunds; and

iii. Establish a digitally-linked network of private groups and civil society organisations that imple-ment social protection programmes by themselves, and with government.

c) Enhance analysis and interpretation of data and statistics on poverty:

i. Coordinate with national, regional and UN statistical data agencies in order to share strategies,lessons and tools; and

ii. Establish a comparative pool of regional data bases that can provide cross-country analysis.

d) Prioritise the agricultural and informal sectors:

i. Identify effective policy measures for improving social safety/protection (in collaboration with theASEAN Senior Officials on Social Welfare and Development);

ii. Build on ongoing efforts/initiatives for social protection as a proactive approach which advocatespromoting employability through training; and

iii. Develop activities to address the impact of trade liberalisation on the competitiveness of theagricultural sector in collaboration with the Senior Officials Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry(SOM-AMAF).

D. Employment and Income-generation (Coordinator: Thailand)

16.AMRDPE has emphasised the importance of human resources development through greater investments ineducation, skills training and lifelong learning to promote employability and financial security of themarginalised groups. Sustainable rural development and poverty eradication must be based on the principle ofself reliance through job development, community empowerment, capacity building for local government andresource mobilisation at local level. To accomplish this, conducive environments are necessary to facilitateincome-generation activities, provide employment opportunities, and improve market access of small ruraleconomies. The role of the private sector, as well as synergistic linkages with relevant ASEAN committees

55

Annex 4

addressing health, agriculture, labour, women, and social welfare, are also important.

17.Future collaborative activities would address the following priorities of the Framework Plan:

• Microfinance

• Economic entrepreneurship

• Development of rural enterprises

• Productive economic activities

• Market networking

• Job training

18. Thailand has developed a proposal for an ASEAN Regional Workshop on Rural Development and PovertyEradication, sharing its experience on the “One Tambon One Product” initiative as an innovative strategy tocreate productive economic activities for the rural poor. Thailand has also offered to open up to interestedASEAN countries its ongoing bilateral programmes with Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam, on capacity-buildingfor community saving groups. Suggested activities are:

a) Promote economic entrepreneurship and the development of rural enterprises:

i. Collaborate with the private sector to promote large-scale production and marketing by smallrural businesses to link small rural economies to the larger market;

ii. Convene a regional workshop to share experience on community enterprises (eg. Thailand’s“one tambon one product” approach);

iii. Facilitate access of rural population to micro-financing;

iv. Invest in education, skills training and lifelong learning to promote employability of the poor;

v. Conduct a joint exercise with the ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM) to shareexperiences on informal sector development; and

vi. Conduct a joint exercise with the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY) to shareexperiences on rural youth entrepreneurship.

b) Build the capacity of officials in rural development and poverty alleviation administration:

i. Conduct workshops on financial management for low-income housing development;

ii. Conduct study visits on integrated farming; and

iii. Include an exchange of views on micro-financing and employment/income generation strategiesas a regular item on the SOMRDPE agenda.

E. Partnerships, Decentralisation, Local Participation (Coordinator: ASEANSecretariat)

19.The importance of shared responsibilities and partnerships for poverty reduction is increasingly beingrecognised. Partnerships are not only among government agencies and NGOs dealing in rural povertyreduction, but also local community participation.

20.The ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank are currently implementing a project promoting localparticipation approaches as a strategy for rural development in the region. The project aims to assist ASEANcountries to develop country action proposals highlighting the role of local participation in poverty reduction

56


efforts, and in so doing, strengthen in-country capacity across sectors involved in rural development andpoverty eradication. These country action proposals would be shared at a regional workshop in October2004 with interested donors/partners to assist ASEAN countries in implementing their action proposals.

21.An activity that could be implemented on a rolling basis under this priority area would build on a previousproject “Training of Facilitators on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication,” which Indonesiaimplemented in 2001 for ASEAN officials. A second training activity has been proposed, focusing on mid-level professionals and practitioners dealing with rural development and poverty eradication. This activitywould also address the need for capacity-building of officials in rural development and poverty alleviationadministration, highlighted in the priority area on employment and income-generation.

22.Indonesia will also coordinate a regional activity to facilitate experience-sharing by ASEAN countries involvedin the World Bank initiative on Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) preparation. This regional activitywould assist ASEAN countries identify common concerns and approaches in poverty reduction, and facilitatethe promotion of ASEAN priorities to interested partner agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, WorldBank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), among other partners.

23.The recommended approach and actions for this priority area:

a) Strengthen in-country capacity across sectors involved in rural development and poverty eradication topromote local participation:

i. Work with the World Bank Institute to implement a project that assists ASEAN countries indeveloping country action proposals that highlight the role of local participation in poverty reduc-tion efforts; and

ii. Conduct intra-ASEAN sharing of experience and lessons learnt in devolving responsibility to localgovernments in the design, management and sustainability of social programmes.

b) Develop activities that facilitate active involvement of all rural development stakeholders in policyformulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation:

i. Increase the local communities’ knowledge and awareness of rural poverty initiatives to facilitatelocal participation in development initiatives;

ii. Coordinate activities to train mid-level professionals and practitioners dealing with rural develop-ment and poverty eradication; and

iii. Coordinate a regional experience-sharing forum for ASEAN countries to identify common con-cerns and approaches for poverty reduction, and to facilitate promotion of ASEAN’s priorities toASEAN’s Dialogue Partners and interested international agencies.

F. Narrowing the Development Gap (Coordinator: Viet Nam/ASEAN Secretariat)

24.An important regional priority relevant to cooperation on rural development and poverty eradication isASEAN’s own process of closer regional integration. In November 2000, the ASEAN Leaders launched theInitiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) to facilitate the integration of ASEAN’s newer members – Cambodia,Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV). An IAI Work Plan addressing the special needs of the CLMVcountries was adopted in 2002. Among other priorities, the Work Plan’s objectives include poverty alleviationin the CLMV. Regional experience-sharing activities such as those proposed by Indonesia under the priorityarea on partnerships, local participation and decentralisation would also assist the CLMV countries indeveloping strategies for poverty reduction.

25.The IAI Work Plan’s component on human resource development is relevant to SOMRDPE’s work. In

57

Annex 4

2002, SOMRDPE discussed the possibility of closer links with ASEAN Senior Labour Officials. TheASEAN Secretariat could facilitate the SOMRDPE’s participation in IAI activities addressing labour andemployment priorities which are relevant to SOMRDPE (e.g. social protection).

26.Recommended approach and actions for this priority area:

a) Support and leverage on the work of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) work plan:

i. Continue participation in the IAI’s priority area of human resource development and seek partici-pation, through SLOM, in IAI activities addressing labour and employment priorities which arerelevant to SOMRDPE (e.g. social protection);

ii. Convene a regional workshop on the development of poverty mapping for ASEAN countries tolearn from each other and share strategies for poverty eradication, and support the improvementof poverty measurement methodologies in ASEAN.

G. Others

27.Three other priority activities have been identified:

Capacity-building:

a) Develop a regional volunteers’ movement for rural development incorporating a home-stay and workprogramme in the rural areas of participating ASEAN countries

b) Establish an exchange programme for young professionals dealing in rural development

Public Information:

a) Increase national and regional public awareness on rural development and poverty eradication

28.The recommended activity on voluntary movement for rural development aims to tackle a yet-to-be-addressed priority identified since AMRDPE’s establishment. This priority calls for the development of aregional rural volunteer programme, possibly including activities to empower and build the capacity ofvolunteers, facilitators and rural development workers through exchange programmes involving home-stayand voluntary work in the rural areas of participating ASEAN countries. Based on the outcome of the ruralvolunteer exchange programme, future exchange programmes of young professionals dealing in ruraldevelopment and poverty eradication could be further developed, emphasising the role of youth leaders/youthworkers in sustainable rural development. Indonesia has expressed interest to coordinate both activities.

29.With regard to public information activities, the Philippines will develop a focused project on promotingawareness on rural development and poverty eradication taking into account the importance of sharinginformation and best practices of ASEAN in addressing poverty and existing initiatives in this area, includingthe ASEAN Secretariat homepage section on poverty.

30.Non-project activities to raise awareness and share experience on rural development and poverty eradicationcould be started through a regular SOMRDPE agenda item on exchange of views on rural development andpoverty eradication priorities, using as topics the lessons/experiences identified by AMRDPE. Follow-upactivities generated by the discussions and exchange could be developed into projects for implementation asappropriate. In this context, the role of NGOs in advocacy and monitoring of inclusive poverty eradicationpolicies and programmes also merits consideration.

58


Part III: Operationalisation Strategies for Projects

31.To move forward regional cooperation more effectively, ASEAN Member Countries have agreed:

• to take into consideration the need to engage relevant partners from both within and outside ASEAN tojointly implement activities of mutual interest, and to use, where possible cost-sharing mechanisms inimplementing priority projects; and

• to use the ASEAN Secretariat to ensure coordination with other relevant ASEAN bodies in implementingcommonly shared concerns for rural development and poverty eradication.

32.Options for potential donors in supporting ASEAN’s priorities for rural development and poverty eradicationwould include:

a) Donor/ international agency identifies ongoing and planned activities which are relevant to the prioritiesin the Framework Plan;

b) Align ongoing country programmes/ activities with relevant concepts/priorities of the Framework Plan;

c) Build a regional component for related on-going projects and activities at bilateral or sub-regional levelalready running in several ASEAN countries;

d) Consider joint development of detailed proposals for planned activities whose implementation could beco-funded or cost-shared with donors/partners; and

e) Invite the participation of representatives from the relevant ASEAN bodies in social development (e.g.labour, social welfare and development) in activities addressing commonly shared concerns/ priorities.

33.Cooperation with other ASEAN bodies is also an important consideration, to further ensure complementationof activities, and avoid unnecessary overlap in formulating and implementing priorities. The ASEANSecretariat can serve as the channel of communication to aid closer coordination among the various ASEANcommittees and senior officials meetings dealing with common concerns.

34.Similarly, closer coordination and linkages can be further pursued with relevant international and regionalorganisations that share ASEAN’s priorities for rural development and poverty reduction. The ASEAN-WorldBank joint activity is a good example of such coordination. Other entities with which linkages/joint activitiescould be considered are the UNDP, the ADB, the Centre for Integrated Rural Development in Asia and thePacific (CIRDAP), and the UNESCAP’s Emerging Social Issues Division. The Asian Partnership for theDevelopment of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA), an NGO affiliated to ASEAN since May2004, can also join hands with SOMRDPE in addressing regional priorities.

59

Annex 5

Work Plan on Women’s Advancement

and Gender Equality (2005 – 2010)8

Part I. Background and Strategic Directions

1. The First Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) held from 28 to 31 October 2002 in LuangPrabang, Laos, agreed that the ACW’s mission would be to “work for women’s advancement in social,economic and political spheres in accordance with the 1988 Declaration on the Advancement of Women inASEAN and relevant priorities identified by ASEAN Leaders.” To implement this mission, the ACW’s Termsof Reference calls for, among other strategies, the formulation of “an ASEAN work plan for women’sadvancement and gender equality, which is anchored on the 1988 Declaration of the Advancement of Womenin the ASEAN Region.”

A. Strategic Directions for Promoting Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality inASEAN

2. The 1988 Declaration of the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region sets out five directives forwomen’s advancement in the region, namely:

i. to promote and implement equitable and effective participation of women wherever possible, in allfields and at various levels of political, economic, social and cultural life of society at the national,regional and international levels;

ii. to enable women in the region to undertake their important role as active agents in and beneficiar-ies of development, particularly in promotion of regional understanding and cooperation and in buildingmore just and peaceful societies;

iii.to integrate in national plans the specific concerns of women and their role as active agents in andbeneficiaries of development, specifically considering their role as a productive force to attain the fulldevelopment of the human personality;

iv.to design and promote programmes involving the participation of the community and non-governmental women’s organisations towards strengthening national and regional resilience;

v. to strengthen solidarity in the regional and international women forums by promoting harmonisa-tion of views and positions.

3. The Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA) adopted by ASEAN Leaders in December 1998 supplements the abovepriorities by highlighting the need for strengthening ASEAN collaboration in combating the trafficking in, andcrimes of violence against, women and children; working towards the full implementation of the Conventionon the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, among other international instrumentsconcerning women; and intensifying efforts of the ASEAN Network for Women in Skills Training to enhancethe capacity of disadvantaged women to enter the work force.

4. The Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II) adopted by the 9th ASEAN Summit in October 2003also seeks to integrate the role of women in building an ASEAN socio-cultural community in line with thevision for an ASEAN Community by 2020. Following the programme of action set by the 1976 Declarationof ASEAN Concord (Bali Concord I), ASEAN leaders have committed to foster cooperation in socialdevelopment aimed at raising the standard of living of disadvantaged groups and the rural population, withactive involvement of all sectors of society, in particular women, youth, and local communities. To addressthis goal, the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP), succeeding the HPA, recommends regional measures thatwill:

60


i. Promote equitable participation of women in the development process by eliminating all forms ofdiscrimination against them;

ii. Implement the eight goals of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in theASEAN Region;

iii. Strengthen regional collaboration in programmes to combat trafficking in women and children;

iv. Develop and implement an ASEAN Work Plan on Women’s Advancement Agenda in politics;

v. Conduct skills training for out-of-school youth and disadvantaged women;

vi. Increase women’s access to micro-credit, information systems and basic social services.

5. The Work Plan activities would give effect to the VAP priorities. In addition to the ASEAN mandate, theBeijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, serves as a frameof reference for sharing experiences and lessons in mainstreaming and promoting gender concerns. In thepreparatory process leading to the Fourth World Conference, ASEAN countries undertook to share theirrespective progress of preparation for the Conference at the annual meetings of the then ASEAN Sub-Committee on Women (ASW). All ten Southeast Asian countries (the then ASEAN-Six, as well as Cambodia,Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam who would later become members of ASEAN) participated actively at theConference. After the Conference which adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, the ASW and later theACW has a regular agenda item on its annual agenda to share experiences in implementing the Beijing Platformpriorities.

6. Priorities for women’s advancement and gender equality are also highlighted In the United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) which call for, among other goals and targets, the promotion of gender equalityand empowerment of women; improvement of maternal health; achievement of universal and equal access toprimary education; and combating HIV/AIDS prevalence among young pregnant women.

7. The special needs and dignity of vulnerable older women and those with disabilities, would also be taken intoconsideration in implementing activities relevant to skills training, self-employment opportunities, orstrengthening capacity of the family and caregivers.

Part II. Priority Areas

8. In all priority areas, socio-cultural issues should be discussed and addressed. The advancement of womenand gender equality can be promoted and achieved through the transformation of traditional values and normsto be more gender responsive.

A. Integration and Participation

9. The cross-cutting nature of gender issues has been highlighted since the 1988 Declaration’s call forintegration of gender needs and concerns into national plans and actions. ASEAN countries report on theirrespective efforts to promote integration of gender concerns into national plans and programmes through asession devoted to sharing experiences on progress made in implementing the Beijing Platform priorities, atthe annual ACW meetings. ASEAN also produces a regular regional report monitoring the implementation ofthe 1988 Declaration, based on indicators already in use by Member Countries and consolidating inter-countryreports on the status of women. The ASEAN Secretariat, in consultation with the ACW, coordinates the

61

Annex 5

gathering of information for, and compilation of the report. At the First ACW Meeting in 2002, ASEANcountries agreed that this reporting mechanism be synchronised with reporting requirements of the BeijingPlatform for Action.

10.An experience commonly shared by governments, bilateral and multilateral development organisations, inefforts to mainstream gender is that progress in gender mainstreaming will be minimal without the supportand commitment of the top people; there are changing demands on the governments of the countries withrespect to gender mainstreaming, training and awareness-raising; the need to demonstrate attention to genderreally does make a difference to development; there are also new challenges with regard to gendermainstreaming in the light of new and emerging concerns that ASEAN Member Countries face in the era ofglobalisation.

11.Regional action in gender mainstreaming would address the impact of globalisation on women, emergingissues such as trafficking of women, violence against women and the situation of rural women and womenmigrant workers. Regional interventions would support national capacity to mainstream gender concerns asan integral part of social and economic policy rather than as special sections of social developmentprogrammes; and support continued networking of ASEAN women’s national machineries.

Activities

a) Promote regional awareness and strengthen capacity on gender mainstreaming, including within therelevant ASEAN committees and ASEAN Secretariat;

b) Intensify collaboration with the ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations (ACWO) to addressimportant women’s concerns in ASEAN, including the feminisation of poverty;

c) Strengthen capacity for research and information-gathering, particularly quantitative information that isdisaggregated by sex and age, and including indicators used to monitor activities for gender equalityand advancement;

d) Document best practices/ innovative strategies undertaken by ASEAN countries to mainstream genderin the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of policies and legislation; and

e) Increase the participation of women in all aspects of ASEAN activities.

12.The APEC economies have recognised the need for integrating a gender perspective and analysis into areasof cooperation, a more systematic and comprehensive collection of sex-disaggregated data, and increasingthe participation of women into all activities. ASEAN countries who are also APEC economies could helpidentify activities addressing priorities relevant to ASEAN’s own priorities.

B. Protection of Women

13.ASEAN’s recognition for the protection of women is underscored in the HPA priorities calling forstrengthened regional collaboration in combating the trafficking in, and crimes of violence against, womenand children; and for working towards the full implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of allforms of Discrimination Against Women, among other international instruments concerning women. Theseinstruments would include the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and to Punish Trafficking in Persons,especially Women and Children, as well as adoption of domestic violence laws and anti-trafficking laws.

14.The ACW also has a priority on its regional agenda to address violence against women. ASEAN Member

62


Countries have also joined in a wider effort organised in collaboration with the UNIFEM and theCommonwealth Secretariat to address gender-based violence. The ACW has also prepared an ASEANDeclaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region, which was signed by theASEAN Foreign Ministers at their 37th Meeting in June 2004.

Activities

a) Strengthen regional capacity to follow-up to the recommendations of the 2002 Workshop on Gender-Based Violence, including the call made to governments to develop:

• plans of action and national declarations on the elimination of violence against women;

• platforms to push for the call include forthcoming inter-governmental events to highlight theissues of violence against women, and the International Day for the Elimination of ViolenceAgainst Women (November 25th) to raise awareness and obtain further governmental commit-ment;

• a reporting mechanism on incidence of gender-based violence;

• information, education and communication (IEC) materials on gender-based violence issues foradvocacy;

• regional activities addressing issues related to women workers and violence against them;

• regional activities emphasizing and establishing male ownership and responsibility to eliminateviolence against women.

b) Work with UN organisations, in particular UNIFEM, to promote the Declaration on the Elimination ofViolence Against Women in the ASEAN Region, and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms ofDiscrimination Against Women.

c) Document ASEAN experiences/lessons/ best practices in addressing gender-based violence.

d) Strengthen management information system on incidence of gender-based violence in all ASEANcountries.

e) Implement the eight priorities of the Declaration on Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region.

C. Addressing Challenges of Globalisation

15.The role of women in the regional processes for integration is important, both as “active agents in andbeneficiaries of development.” The ACW agenda recognises the need to discuss and identify ways to ensurethat globalisation is a positive force for reducing poverty, thereby improving the lives of women, particularlythe rural women and those displaced through structural changes as a result of economic integration, ways toaddress the impact of these emerging concerns on the situation of women. At the First ACW Meeting inOctober 2002, the ACW exchanged views on the theme of “Women in Economics: Access to EconomicResources and Opportunities for Poverty Alleviation.” This exchange of views is an innovation of the ACWand shall continue on ACW’s annual agenda, so that possibilities for coordinating regional action can befurther worked out, through an extensive exchange of views and information on existing initiatives onresponses to emerging economic concerns for women.

63

Annex 5

Activities

a) Develop and intensify research capacity on the negative impact of globalisation on women’s lives inorder to have an effective understanding and identify subsequent measures of change.

b) Support the strengthening of capacities to:

i. Implement strategies to improve women’s access, participation, control and benefit to micro-credit, information systems, basic social services such as education and health care, to bridge thegender gap.

ii. Implement advocacy and training programmes as well as transparent and well-defined processesto enable women migrant workers to be well-informed and prepared for work overseas so as toavoid the potential danger of becoming victims of violence, abuse, or trafficking.

iii. Implement strategies – in consultation with the ASEAN Senior Labour Officials – to address theimpact of trade liberalisation on women, including issues on working conditions, vulnerabilitiesand differences that women have in the formal labour market;

iv. Put in place multi-sectoral programmes addressing the need for boosting employability andlivelihood management skills of women as a means of assisting women’s access, participation,control and benefit of economic opportunities and long-term economic well-being of women.

16.As such, the impact of globalisation, trade liberalisation and the advent of information and communicationstechnology (ICT), on women is an important emerging concern that could to be addressed as a priority areain the proposed work plan. The 2nd APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women in September 2002 had identifiedwomen’s entrepreneurship, microenteprise development, and the gender dimension of trade liberalisation asissues to be addressed. Future capacity-building and advocacy activities under the ACW framework couldalso take into consideration the work of the APEC HRD working group in addressing these concerns at theASEAN level.

D. Promoting Employability of Women

17.The implementation of the existing regional work programme on women and skills training would address thepriority area of the work plan. Future initiatives for promoting employability of women would also addressthe needs of the CLMV countries with regard to their integration efforts.

Activities

a) Support formulation of policies and action plans in each ASEAN Member Country to promote skillstraining and provide opportunities for self-employment and micro-enterprise for women.

Part III. Suggested Strategies to Operationalise Activities

18.This section proposes strategies for ASEAN countries to consider in mobilising resources to implement futureactivities, taking into account the need to engage relevant partners for joint implementation of activities ofmutual interest, and to increasingly use cost-sharing modalities in implementing ASEAN priorities. While theeffort to match regional priorities with donor interest shall continue, ASEAN Member Countries can continuein their self-reliant efforts to address women’s advancement and gender equality concerns,

64


19.An effective strategy for operationalising activities would be through partnerships among the ASEANcountries themselves, on the cost-sharing basis, and with other entities such as the UN specialised agencies,ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, international organisations, established non-governmental organisations (such asthe ACWO), the business and private sector, and the civil society. Partnerships facilitate “strengtheningsolidarity in the regional and international women forums” and assist in promoting the harmonisation of viewsand positions. As women’s issues and concerns cuts across all areas of development, partnerships also needto be built among the ASEAN functional committees.

20.Partnerships among ASEAN Member Countries would also bear in mind the priorities of the Initiative forASEAN Integration (IAI) where the ASEAN-6 countries (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia,Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) would engage in “mentoring” activities to facilitate the smooth integrationof the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam) into ASEAN.

21.Accordingly, ASEAN Member Countries shall undertake the following important tasks critical tooperationalising ASEAN’s priorities for women:

• identify on-going and planned national projects which could be opened up to other countries for partici-pation;

• build a regional component for related on-going projects and activities at bilateral or sub-regional levelalready running in several ASEAN countries;

• align ongoing country programmes/ activities with relevant concepts/priorities of the ACW;

• identify areas of expertise in which a country could coordinate development and implementation of aproject, preferably on a cost-sharing basis;

• Consider joint development of detailed proposals for planned activities whose implementation could beco-funded or cost-shared with donors/partners; and

• Invite the participation of representatives from the relevant ASEAN bodies in social development (e.g.labour, rural development and poverty eradication, social welfare and development) in activities address-ing commonly shared concerns/ priorities.

22.Potential donors are also requested to identify ongoing and planned activities which are relevant to ASEAN’spriorities for women, so that joint activities addressing these shared priorities could be implemented withASEAN.

65

Annex 6

Guidelines On ASEAN’s Relations with Civil

Society Organisations*

1. A civil society organisation (hereinafter referred to as “CSO”) that is a non-profit making association ofASEAN persons, natural or juridical, organised to promote, strengthen and help realise the aims and objectivesof ASEAN cooperation in the political, economic, social, cultural, scientific, medical and technological fields,may be affiliated to ASEAN.

2. For the purpose of the guidelines, such organisations or associations perform functions and activities that aregovernmental or quasi-governmental in nature but they are not part of the formal structure of ASEAN.

3. It shall be normal for a CSO to establish a working link with an ASEAN body through the ASEAN Secretariat.Basically, the working link shall allow the CSOs to submit written statements to include proposals or positionsand other recommendations.

4. ASEAN bodies may, if need be, formulate additional rules on the linkage peculiar to their respective needs andpractices. These additional rules should be subject to the approval of the ASEAN Standing Committee.

5. The main objectives of affiliation are:

a) To draw the CSOs into the mainstream of ASEAN activities so that they are kept informed of majorpolicies, directives and decisions of ASEAN and are given the opportunity and the privilege of partici-pating in ASEAN activities;

b) To ensure interaction and fruitful relationships between the existing ASEAN bodies and the CSOs; and

c) To help promote the development of a people-centered ASEAN Community.

6. All applications for CSO affiliation shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of ASEAN. If the ASEANSecretariat considers the application in conformity with the Guidelines, it shall be referred to the appropriatelink body, or when an appropriate link body cannot be identified, the ASEAN National Secretariats, for theirviews. After four months, unless there is an objection, the application shall be submitted to the ASEANStanding Committee for its consideration.

7. Application for affiliation shall include, at a minimum, information regarding the nature and purpose of theapplication of the CSO, its constitution and by-laws, a copy of its registration papers, its membership,background on its key officials, its function, activities, and projects, and its link body.

8. Subject to paragraph 6 above, the Secretary-General shall formally present, with his recommendations,applications for affiliation to the ASEAN Standing Committee which shall consider the applications using,among others, the following criteria:

a) As a general rule, only a CSO whose membership is confined to the ASEAN nationals may be consid-ered for affiliation with ASEAN;

b) Approval of application for affiliation of a CSO with ASEAN shall be based primarily upon the assess-ment of the positive contribution which such a CSO could make to the enhancement, strengthening andrealisation of the aims and objectives of ASEAN;

c) Affiliation status with ASEAN may not be granted to a CSO if it has objectives, activities or projectswhich are contrary to or inconsistent with the aims and objectives of ASEAN embodied in the BangkokDeclaration and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord;

d) The objectives of the CSO’s activities should contribute towards achieving community building that is

66


in line with one or more of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community – the ASEAN Security Commu-nity, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community; and

e) A CSO whose membership comes from a relatively even spread of the ASEAN Member Countries maybe allowed affiliation, provided that ASEAN is satisfied that the CSO merits affiliation and the non-participating Member Countries have given their consent to the CSO and provided further that member-ship shall remain open for other Member Countries.

9. An affiliated CSO shall enjoy the following privileges:

a) It may use the name “ASEAN” and display the official ASEAN logo in correspondence and communica-tions and its official meetings so long as the displaying of the logo is non-commercial in nature;

b) It may submit written statements or recommendations and views on policy matters or on significantevents or regional or international concerns, to the ASEAN Standing Committee through the ASEANSecretariat;

c) It may submit its own project proposals for Third Party funding, to be channeled through the ASEANSecretariat, to the ASEAN Standing Committee for approval;

d) It may initiate programmes of activities for presentation to its link body for appropriate action;

e) At the discretion of the Chairman of the link body, it may, through its representative, attend meetings ofthe link body for consultation on matters and issues of direct concern to the CSO;

f) For purposes of doing research for its projects, it may be allowed access to the ASEAN documents ona selective basis in consultation with the ASEAN Secretariat and or its link body;

g) Subject to rules and regulations, it may be allowed the use of the facilities of the ASEAN Secretariat forits official meetings and other official activities in Jakarta;

h) It shall be encouraged to be self-reliant in terms of its material requirements; and

i) The ASEAN Secretariat shall provide CSOs with key ASEAN publications every year.

10. As a general rule, none of the foregoing privileges in paragraph 9 will be extended to organisations notformally affiliated with ASEAN.

11. All affiliated CSOs shall be required to comply with the following:

They shall undertake in writing to abide by the policies, guidelines, directives, and other decisions of ASEAN;

a) They shall undertake to advance ASEAN interests and promote the awareness of ASEAN’s principlesand activities;

b) They shall be held responsible for their actions, especially those found detrimental to ASEAN as awhole;

c) They shall invite participation of officials of ASEAN Member Countries at their meetings and activities;

d) They shall submit, annually, a written summary of their activities to the ASEAN Standing Committeethrough the ASEAN Secretariat; and

e) They shall inform the ASEAN Secretariat of changes in their officials and memberships, as well aschanges of address.

12. They shall endeavour to link up with national organisations accredited officially to ASEAN NationalSecretariats and echo their activities in advancing ASEAN interests. In so doing, the affiliated CSO canexpand their membership or establish linkages and informal ties with national organisations in ASEAN.

67

Annex 6

13. Upon recommendations by the ASEAN Secretariat, after complaint has been lodged by an ASEAN link bodyor an ASEAN Member Country, the ASEAN Standing Committee shall, at its discretion, terminate theaffiliation of CSOs if:

a) They engage in acts inimical to ASEAN or any of the ASEAN Member Country;

b) They act in contrary to the aims, objectives and fundamental principles of ASEAN;

c) They are found to have committed gross misconduct which brings disrepute to ASEAN;

d) They are inactive, defunct or fail to submit an annual summary of their activities, as required underparagraph 11.e. for three years in succession; and

e) They change their constitutions, officials and membership resulting in their inability thereafter to adhereto the guidelines.

14. CSOs whose affiliation have been terminated under paragraph 13 above, shall not take legal action against anyASEAN Member Country or the ASEAN Secretariat. However, they may appeal to the ASEAN StandingCommittee for a consideration of the termination. The decision of the ASEAN Standing Committee shall befinal and binding.

15. The Member Countries through the ASEAN Secretariat shall regularly monitor the activities of the CSOs andtheir relations with ASEAN, and recommend to the ASEAN Standing Committee appropriate measures to dealwith CSOs that have not acted in accordance with the provisions set forth in paragraph 11.

16. A CSO whose affiliation is terminated shall be denied exercise of the privileges provided under paragraph 9. Such termination shall be made public.

* Versions of the Guidelines prior to March 2006 used the term “non-governmental organisations” instead of“civil society organisations”.

Notes

1. The original Guidelines were adopted at the 5th Meeting of the 19th ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC),Manila, 16-18 June 1986.

2. The 2nd Meeting of the 39th ASC, Jakarta, 18-19 January 2006, revised the original guidelines into its presentform. The 39th ASC adopted the above version of the Guidelines on 3 April 2006.

Published by the ASEAN Secretariat6 April 2006

68


69

Annex 7

Statement of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference

to the 11th ASEAN Summit

More than 120 participants from civil society organizations from all the ten ASEAN states took part in a regionalconference on the theme of “Building a Common Future Together” The conference was held at UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM) in Shah Alam from 7 to 9 December 2005. It was organized by the Center forASEAN Studies UiTM with the support and cooperation of a number of Malaysian civil society organizations.The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar opened the Conference.

This is the first time ASEAN civil society has been invited by ASEAN Heads of State to present the conclusionsof their deliberations to the 11th ASEAN Summit with its theme of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.The participants of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference welcome this unprecedented gesture, and would like toconvey their appreciation to the ASEAN Heads of States for this long awaited opportunity in our region.

For a number of years now, various ASEAN civil society organizations and networks, including trade unions,have been meeting to reflect on ASEAN’s role and future and to discuss specific concerns ranging from theenvironment to human rights. The ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA) for instance, which was launched in 2000is one such example of a collective endeavour that seeks to address issues of relevance to the region. Morerecently, in October of this year, the Southeast Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA) with the support of theASEAN Secretariat, organized a regional conference on Civil Society Engagement in ASEAN, in Bangkok.

Over the last 20 years, civil society has come a long way. The emergence of a multitude of civil societyorganizations has increased the articulation of local and national concerns and strengthened citizens’ participationin political processes. Consequently, democratic accountability has somewhat increased and, in some instances,a closer bond has developed between state and society. This has contributed in no small measure to socialcohesion and a degree of inter-ethnic unity and harmony in the midst of cultural and religious diversity.

At the same time, individual ASEAN countries have achieved considerable economic and social progress. Insome of our countries, political institutions have also acquired a significant degree of resilience. PerhapsASEAN’s most significant accomplishment is its staying power. This organization has expanded to cover thewhole of Southeast Asia’s 558 million people. Today, it is the world’s most diverse ethnic, cultural and religiousregional entity. That in itself is something that ASEAN and its people can be justly proud of. Now, the goal ofan ASEAN Community by 2020 as stated in the Vientiane Action Plan 2004 is timely, and civil societyparticipation is needed to realize that vision.

Still, there are monumental challenges ahead, and civil society organizations deliberated on some of these underthe theme “Building Our Common Future Together”. We identified five sub-themes for in-depth analysis. Theyare Human Dignity; Economy and Trade; Environment and Natural Resources Management; Women, Youth andIndigenous Groups; and ASEAN Identity and Media. The following are the ten main issues and proposals thatemerged from two and a half days of debate and discussion.

ISSUES AND PROPOSALS

ISSUE: ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Civil society participants recognized the need for more openness and transparency at all levels of the ASEAN

70


power structure in order to secure greater accountability and allow civil society to effectively play their roles aswatchdogs, monitors and early warning systems. Towards this end, the deep feeling was that civil society wasnot getting access to accurate, relevant and timely information on matters of concern to the people.

PROPOSAL ONE

As a first step toward opening up ASEAN to the people, participants at the Conference urge the Eminent PersonsGroup already established to deliberate the ASEAN Charter, to involve civil society and other interested groupsthrough public hearings in all ASEAN countries so that we can ensure that there are benchmarks in developing anASEAN Charter and that these are in conformity with international standards and reflective of universal valuesembodied in ASEAN’s religions and cultures.

ISSUE: PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING

Despite its 38 years of existence, ASEAN does not have mechanisms in place to engage civil society. This is amajor stumbling block to achieving the ASEAN vision of integration and community building.

PROPOSAL TWO

Participants called for the immediate review of current accreditation procedures to allow for all segments of civilsociety and all stakeholders to be part of ASEAN. This will remove impediments to meaningful engagement andbring ASEAN closer to the people. Some suggestions in this regard include:

• Establishing a mechanism such as a Non-Governmental Liaison Center or a Permanent Civil SocietyConsultative Forum composed of civil society organizations independent from the governments and otherinfluences. This will help to systematically channel civil society inputs to the ASEAN Secretariat and otherASEAN processes.

• Helping to build the capacity of civil society to address regional issues. Here, civil society wishes to state itswillingness to work towards strengthening of civil society organizations in countries where there is such aneed. Civil society for its part also realizes that it must act in concert, with courage and integrity, and ensureit does not become a rubber stamp for any predetermined decisions. At the same time, civil societyappreciates the importance of adopting a balanced, rational and principled approach to challenges confrontingASEAN.

ISSUE: NO COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE PEOPLES

The notion of an “ASEAN Community” has remained elusive and illusory because the organization is perceivedas being overly bureaucratic, elitist and top-down in its approach.

PROPOSAL THREE

Participants urge that the existing ASEAN Parliamentary Caucus be strengthened with a view to eventuallytransforming it into the ASEAN Parliament that can carry the voices of all ASEAN peoples.

71

Annex 7

ISSUE: VISIONS WITHOUT IMPLEMENTATION

Despite numerous Vision Statements, Plans of Action and Declarations that ASEAN leaders have committed to,significant segments of society remain weak and vulnerable and continue to be denied their basic human rights.

PROPOSAL FOUR

Civil society urges the ASEAN Summit to take firm and concrete steps to implement all its commitments,including those for the protection of women and children as well as those under the ASEAN Security Plan ofAction and the Vientiane Action Programme (2004-2010), including :

i. Establishing a network of cooperation among existing human rights mechanisms and initiatives. In thisrespect, civil society welcomes the proposal by the Malaysian government to work towards a regional humanrights mechanism in 2006;

ii. Creating an ASEAN human rights commission which would serve as a channel for the articulation of humanrights grievances at the regional; level and as a avenue for proposing solutions to national governments,

iii. Developing an ASEAN instrument on the protection and promotion of the rights of workers, includingmigrant workers;

iv. Establishing an ASEAN Commission on the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children;

v. Undertaking effective measures to protect vulnerable groups including women, children, the elderly, peoplewith disabilities, refugees and migrant workers, and

vi. Continuing to promote and emphasize the role of education and public awareness in relation to human rights.

ISSUE: CHANGING NATURE OF CHALLENGES

There are far too many major transboundary challenges relating to the environment like the haze,, health,especially HIV/AIDS and now bird flu, human security, migration and labor that the region is facing.

PROPOSAL FIVE

Participants urge the ASEAN Summit to reconsider the ‘ASEAN way” of dealing with these transboundarychallenges so that swift and effective action can be taken in the interest of the people. The principle of consensusshould not hinder ASEAN from acting decisively on behalf of justice when the situation so demands.

ISSUE: CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

Some parts of the region are burdened with the suppression of civil and political rights and continue to sufferunder dictatorships. As a result, millions of people are denied social justice and human dignity. This tragicsituation has led to the stigmatization of the entire region and ASEAN is compelled to pay a heavy price in termsof its international credibility and is constrained in its ability to play a leading role in the regional and globalarena.

72


PROPOSAL SIX

The 11th ASEAN Summit should act immediately to end such suppression. It should harness all its resources topersuade all its members to adhere to a rules-based framework which gives priority to the rights and interests ofthe people and adheres to the tenets of good governance. The political empowerment of the people is essential forthe emergence of a genuinely free and stable ASEAN community.

ISSUE: TRADE INJUSTICES AND INEQUITIES

Rapid globalization, with its calls for deregulation, privatization and inappropriate liberalization, can create arace to the bottom, where social, environmental and labor standards are compromised. The lives and livelihoodsof our rural communities, especially farmers and fisherfolk, have been devastated in many parts of the region.The plight of our urban poor has also worsened dramatically. Employment and the welfare of workers are alsothreatened.

On-going world trade negotiations are mired in controversies, with many of the proposals of developed countriesthreatening the sustainable development prospects of developing countries, in areas such as servicesliberalization and market access for non-agricultural products.

To compound matters, ASEAN as a bloc is now pursuing trade and economic frameworks and agreements withnon-ASEAN countries. The wide scope of these agreements that include investment, intellectual property,services, government procurement, market access, labor and environment is of growing concern as they containcommitments and obligations that are even more burdensome than those of existing WTO agreements.

PROPOSAL SEVEN

Civil society participants at this conference therefore call on ASEAN nations to :

• adopt economic and employment policies that satisfy the highest standards of social, economic, civil andpolitical rights;

• consider institutionalizing civil society participation in decision making on socio-economic issues through anASEAN Economic and Social Advisory Council;

• be open and transparent in the conduct of all trade negotiations;

• undertake comprehensive impact assessments of trade negotiations at the multilateral, regional and bilaterallevels;

• maintain a strong position at the forthcoming Sixth Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World TradeOrganization with regards to the liberalization of trade in services, based on the joint proposal of a number ofASEAN countries;

• defer any conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements with developed countries until there are broad-basedconsultations with all stakeholders;

• develop rules and codes of conduct to ensure corporate accountability among business entities in ASEAN;

73

Annex 7

• safeguard the rights of consumers and address consumer protection issues comprehensively;

• establish mechanisms for broad consultations with civil society organizations both at the national and regionallevels and

• ensure trade justice and equity for all ASEAN peoples.

ISSUE: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Despite a long history of cooperation and scores of legal instruments, the region is not on a path towardsenvironmental sustainability. Environmental degradation in the ASEAN region is now being exacerbated byhuman and man -made disasters. Reversing unsustainable consumption and production patterns andunsustainable patterns of development is proving to be a monumental task.

PROPOSAL EIGHT

Civil society appeals to all ASEAN Member States to:

• Prioritize integrated natural resources management in all national development plans and strategies and worktowards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and targets;

• MDGs implementation in the region should be premised upon the inter-linkages between all the Goals,especially Goals 1(Poverty), 7(Environmental Sustainability) and 8 (Global Partnership for Development);

• Allocate adequate funds for implementing these plans and policies instead of spending exorbitant sums onmilitary and defense equipment;

• Tackle corruption head on because it is diverting resources that could be mobilized for socio-economicdevelopment both at national and regional levels;

• Regulate corporate behavior and ensure it does not undermine efforts to ensure environmental and socialsustainability;

• Implement the Rio Principles, in particular Principle 10 ( Broad-based Participation ), Principle 14(Prevention) and Principle 15 ( Precaution ); and

• Support the establishment of an ASEAN Civil Society Consultative Forum on Environment and SustainableDevelopment to allow for civil society inputs into ASEAN processes relating to the environment.

ISSUE: EMPOWERING WOMEN, YOUTH AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Civil society participants identified several difficulties in relation to women, children, youth and indigenouspeople. Women, including female migrant workers continue to disproportionately bear the burdens of poverty,ill-health, violence and all forms of discrimination.

74


In some parts of the region there is a lack of opportunities for youth participation in decision making and a lackof decent productive work which in turn leads to social unrest, drug abuse and rising crime rates. This is totallyunacceptable especially since demographics indicate that the majority of ASEAN’s citizens are young.

The unique needs and interests, special knowledge of our indigenous peoples and local communities, and theiraccess to land and natural resources, in particular, are not being adequately safeguarded.

PROPOSAL NINE

Our population structure demands that women, youth and indigenous people are adequately represented at alllevels of decision making processes within ASEAN. Civil Society urges greater focus and attention to women,youth and indigenous peoples. Recognizing their rights and broadening their participation in society will go a longway in creating a safer, more stable and caring ASEAN community. ASEAN governments should also ensurethat they have equitable access to healthcare services particularly in relation to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

ISSUE: ROLE OF EDUCATION AND THE MEDIA IN FORGING AN ASEANIDENTITY

The absence of a truly people-centered ASEAN identity is very glaring today. Thus far, ASEAN hasconcentrated on political stability and economic goals. There is a need for a community driven, collectiveASEAN consciousness to be nurtured through better and deeper understanding of our common history, cultureand diversity.

PROPOSAL TEN

The media and educational institutions have a very important role in this. The ASEAN media and ASEANjournalists should generate information and analysis from an ASEAN perspective and thereby help to reinforce anASEAN identity. Civil Society urges governments to encourage the media in such efforts. The media and alleducational institutions should emphasize those shared values that are rooted in all our religions and culturalphilosophies so as to nurture this much needed sense of togetherness amongst all peoples of ASEAN.

In CONCLUSION, civil society would like to thank ASEAN leaders for this opportunity and hope we can havemore such interactions in the future. Civil Society is of the view that we have now arrived at a critical juncturein ASEAN’s evolution as an organization. We have this opportunity before us to transform ASEAN from an inter-governmental organization into a genuine people-centered community. We reiterate that there can be no ASEANCommunity without the people. Civil society is eager to contribute towards this laudable goal which will helpsecure a more just, peaceful ASEAN for us and for future generations.

75

Annex 7

Footnotes1 Note only excerpts of the VAP pertaining to the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community are included. The full textcan be found at: http://www.aseansec.org/VAP-10th%20ASEAN%20Summit.pdf

2 Tenth ASEAN Summit, Vientiane, 29-30 November 2004. See: http://www.aseansec.org/16474.htm

3 Adopted by the 1st ASEAN SOMSWD meeting on 9-10 October 2002, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

4 Adopted by the Fourth Meeting of the Asean Ministers on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication(AMRDPE) on 7 October 2004.

5 These priority areas were endorsed by the 4th SOMRDPE held in Yangon, Myanmaron 15-16 December 2003.6 Announced when Leaders adopted the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement in November 2000.

7 The Senior Labour Officials Meeting’s (SLOM) work on social protection focuses more on the formal sector.

8 Adopted at the 3rd ASEAN ACW meeting in Yangon from 29 November - 1 December 2004

engaging with asean - icsw › images › docs › regions › seasia › pub › 2006... ·...

Documents